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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23275558">A Powerful Beauty</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/M34GS/pseuds/M34GS'>M34GS</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Haikyuu! Merperson AU [2]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Haikyuu!!</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>F/M, M/M, Prequel, merperson au</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-03-23</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-06-09</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-01 08:54:17</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Not Rated</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>9</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>31,968</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23275558</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/M34GS/pseuds/M34GS</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Keiji has always been different from his family. It makes sense...he is adopted. But he yearns to find someone like himself. Someone who looks like he does. Someone with abilities like his. Someone who...understands.</p><p>Enter Koutarou, the energetic merman from Fukurodani Pod. Keiji finds himself drawn to Koutarou, and it's more than just the excitement of finally finding someone like him.</p><p>Prequel to the fanfic 'Lost'.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Akaashi Keiji/Bokuto Koutarou, OC/OC</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Haikyuu! Merperson AU [2]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1781167</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>70</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>108</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. If Someone LIke You Found Someone Like Me</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Hey! So this is a prequel to Lost. If you haven't read that one yet, feel free to check it out! :) I hope you enjoy this fic.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>               Keiji hummed to himself as he drifted lazily through the water. His mother and sister were sleeping under the sand, but he felt restless, so he decided to wander. He wouldn’t go too far, but anything was better than just sitting and waiting. He watched the colourful fish darting around and listened to their conversations. Nothing overly interesting, mostly searching for food or fleeing from some perceived danger.</p><p>               He’d been able to hear the fish since he was young. His mother told him it was a gift not everyone had. She told him it was another thing that made him special. Keiji didn’t feel special. He felt odd. He didn’t look like his mother or sister in the slightest, and even though he knew that was to be expected as he was adopted, they still claimed he was distantly related, so he’d always hoped he’d at some point start to appear more ‘normal’. His tail was a stark contrast of black and white, with large, flowing fins. His hair was dark and curly around his face. His eyes were small and a darker blue than theirs. He hated everything about his appearance. He could handle the difference of being able to understand most fish, but the physical differences made him a target for others. Not that they stayed with others often, but when they did, he felt their eyes on him, calculating, judging. He hated it. He’d never seen anyone else like him, despite his mother’s assurances that he wasn’t the only one who looked like this. Which is why, when he saw one that day, for the first time, he did a double take.</p><p>               At first, he thought the figure was a small orca, with its size and colouring. Then he saw its head, its fins, its <em>hair.</em> Keiji went still for a moment. The creature didn’t seem to see him. He glanced around and saw a patch of seaweed he could hide in. He ducked behind it and watched.</p><p>***</p><p>               Koutarou wasn’t sure when he initially felt he was being watched. As he was chasing the bright fish, he just slowly became aware that he wasn’t alone, that there was another merperson present. Part of it may have been due to the fact he heard the fish’s thoughts, about how there were <em>two </em>of them now and would they be eaten by this one or the prettier one. That stung his pride a little. Koutarou considered himself to be fairly good-looking. He paused and looked around, trying to find this ‘prettier’ mer. His eyes landed on a patch of seaweed a short distance away. He could just barely see the tip of a fin poking out from behind it. Curious, he tilted his head and swam toward it. The seaweed fluctuated slightly, not in time with the water around it, but as if something, or someone, inside it had suddenly stiffened. <em>So they don’t want to be found, </em>Koutarou realized. He grinned and his golden eyes gleamed. <em>This is gonna be fun!</em> He thought as he darted forward.</p><p>               A shape shot out of the patch of seaweed and Koutarou paused to stare. He was the most beautiful merperson Koutarou had ever seen. His fins were large and graceful and his features were sharp and defined, yet also delicate. He was slim, but with wiry muscles indicating he was not lazy. Koutarou felt his mouth drop open as their eyes met – beautiful blue eyes – but he shut it almost immediately. With a grin, he darted forward and started the chase. “Hey, hey, hey!” he called. “Wait up!” The other mer did not wait. He twisted around and dodged and turned. He was fast, but Koutarou was faster. He laughed as he gained on the other mer, who glanced over his shoulder with wide eyes. That was his mistake. As he was looking at Koutarou, the other mer did not see the sudden shape looming in front of him. He turned forward to bump right into a sea turtle. The mer yelped and scrambled back…right into Koutarou’s arms. “Gotcha!” he cried triumphantly. The mer yelped again and squirmed. “Oi, oi, take it…easy,” Koutarou grunted as he pulled the mer backward with him. He loosened his grip a little, and the other mer spun around, snarl on his face. Even so, it was still the most beautiful face he’d ever seen.</p><p>               “Let go of me,” the mer growled. Koutarou blinked. He let go of the other mer. The mer backed up and watched him warily, not stupid enough to try and flee again now that he knew Koutarou was faster. His tail swished from side to side and his fins twitched. His ear fins perked up and turned this way and that, trying to catch all the sounds he could. He looked every inch the part of cornered prey. Koutarou tilted his head.</p><p>               “Are you scared of me?” he asked, seriously. The other mer flinched.</p><p>               “No! I’m not. Why would I be?” he snapped. Koutarou regarded him for a second.</p><p>               “I’ve never seen you around…but you look like you belong to my pod,” he stated. The other mer fidgeted again.</p><p>               “I don’t belong to any pod!” he replied quickly. His eyes darted around, looking for the fastest escape route.</p><p>               “You <em>are </em>scared of me,” Koutarou pointed out. He grinned. “Don’t worry, I won’t hurt you!” Then his expression sobered. “If you’re not from any pod, then where are you from? Are you by yourself? It’s no wonder you’re scared if you’re alone! Don’t worry, though, I said I wouldn’t hurt you. I can even protect you!” His grin was back in place by the end of his speech. The other mer recoiled and hissed.</p><p>               “I don’t need protection! I do just fine with my family,” he answered without thinking.</p><p>               “So, you <em>do</em> have a family!”</p><p>               The other mer looked panicked now. His eyes were wide, and if Koutarou had thought his fins were large before, now he could see they were absolutely massive, fanned out totally, and beautiful. Koutarou inched back, hands held up in front of him placatingly.</p><p>               “Easy, easy,” Koutarou said in a friendly tone. “I’m just curious about you, is all!” The strange mer watched him with a wary expression.</p><p>               “…why?” he asked as he narrowed his eyes. His fins relaxed slightly, but he still looked ready to flee. Koutarou’s smile widened.</p><p>               “Because I’ve never seen you before, and because you’re beautiful!” he declared easily. The stranger blinked and stared at him with a confused expression.</p><p>               “…beautiful? Me?” he mumbled. Distractedly, he started to fidget with his fingers. He looked down at his tail and fins, then back up at Koutarou. “You think so?” Koutarou nodded.</p><p>               “Yup!”</p><p>               The stranger let his fins relax fully and looked down again. He threw a couple glances at Koutarou, his cheeks slightly pink, but his eyes kept returning to the ocean floor. Finally, he spoke. “Um. I think you…you look nice. Too,” he mumbled. Koutarou leaned into the stranger’s space.</p><p>               “Really?!” he asked excitedly. The other mer leaned back, eyes wide again, and nodded quickly. “Yes!” Koutarou exclaimed as he launched himself into a back flip. He righted himself and got even closer to the stranger. “I’m Koutarou! What’s your name?”</p><p>               “…Keiji.”</p><p>               “Where are you from, Keiji? I’m from Fukurodani Pod. It’s not far from here! Do you live around here as well? Is your family big? Do you have lots of siblings? Are you related to anyone from my pod? You look like you’d fit right in with us!” Koutarou continued to inch forward as he asked each question. Keiji slowly backed away from him.</p><p>               “Um.”</p><p>               A low, rumbling sound rolled through the water, halting both mer. Koutarou’s ears twitched and he looked in the direction of the noise with a slight frown. Keiji looked as well, but his expression was more worried than anything when Koutarou snuck a glance at him.</p><p>               “Um, I-I’m sorry,” Keiji stammered out. “I, uh, h-have to go.” He shot past Koutarou and darted off in the direction of the sound before Koutarou could stop him.</p><p>               “Wait! Keiji!” Koutarou called, but Keiji kept going.</p><p>***</p><p>               Keiji swam as fast as he could, hoping Koutarou wasn’t following him. He wasn’t sure how his family would react to him having met someone like that mer. The call he’d heard before rolled across the ocean again: <em>“Where are you? We’re missing you. Come back.”</em> Keiji picked up his pace, unable to relax until he could see them, waiting for him.</p><p>               His mother turned her large head to face him and called out a greeting, which he answered in kind. She reached out with her long tentacles, wrapped around him and pulled him close. Her blue eyes glowed and she hummed as she held him.</p><p>               <em>“Where were you, my son? I was worried when I woke and you were not here with us.” </em> Her voice was low and majestic, as powerful as the waves themselves.</p><p>               “<em>I was just out exploring, mother</em>,” he replied. He patted her tentacles and she released him. His sister stretched her own tentacles and yawned, showing a mouth full of sharp teeth.</p><p>               <em>“Exploring where?”</em> she asked. She was not as large as their mother and her voice not as low, but still powerful. Keiji shrugged and gestured in the direction he came from.</p><p>               “<em>That way, Amara,</em>” he answered. Amara turned her great, scaled head to look and hummed thoughtfully.</p><p>               “<em>Did you go very far?”</em> She stretched her multiple limbs and wrapped one around him, giving him her version of a hug. Keiji shook his head.</p><p>               “<em>No, not really.</em>” He returned the hug by patting her gently.</p><p>               “<em>Did you see anyone or anything dangerous?</em>” His mother prompted. Keiji hesitated only for a moment before shaking his head.</p><p>               “<em>Just the usual,</em>” he responded. His sister let go of him and turned to their mother.</p><p>               “<em>M</em><em>other, let’s go find food. I’m so hungry,”</em> she whined. Their mother raised her head and scanned the water.</p><p>               “<em>Come, this way, Amara,” </em>she ordered as she turned to her left. The water shifted and waves rolled away from her as she moved. Keiji grabbed onto Amara’s scales on her back and held on tightly as the other two swam toward some unsuspecting food.</p><p>***</p><p>               Koutarou chewed on his lip as he surveyed the area. He’d returned for the third day in a row now, to the place where he’d met Keiji. So far, the other mer had yet to return. Koutarou couldn’t help the spike of worry every time he thought about the other mer. It had started with the noise they heard. A low rumble; Koutarou knew it, as did every Fukurodani Pod member. They memorized the sound when they were young and learned to stay away from it; away from the leviathans. Not only did Keiji flee immediately, but he swam in the direction of the creatures. Koutarou cursed himself for letting the other mer leave without insisting he go to help. Keiji was probably worried about his family getting attacked or something, yet all he could do was watch in surprise as he swam off. Even after, when his body listened to his brain again, he couldn’t find Keiji.</p><p>               He’d felt guilt clawing at his stomach, so he came back each day, hoping he would see the beautiful mer again. Most times, he just ended up chasing the fish around, bored out of his mind. On the third day, however, his hopes were answered. He chased the fish again, not really putting much effort into it, but watching with mild interest as they darted back and forth with their bright colours. He was so absorbed in his own world that he didn’t notice someone else was there until a shadow fell over him. Startled, Koutarou flipped around to face them. He found himself face to face with Keiji, who stared at him with a raised eyebrow.</p><p>               “What are you doing?” Keiji asked as he tilted his head to see the fish behind Koutarou. Koutarou ignored the question.</p><p>               “KEIJIIIII!” he shouted as he scooped the other mer into a hug. Keiji stiffened up and Koutarou just clung to him tighter. “I’m so glad to see you! I was so worried. You swam off toward that sound, and I thought maybe you and your family were in trouble, but by the time I tried to follow I couldn’t find you and it was late, and I was so worried so I kept coming back here because I wanted to see you again!”</p><p>               “K-Kou,” Keiji gasped. “I ca-an’t b-breathe.” Koutarou immediately let go, but stayed close to Keiji, eyes large with worry.</p><p>               “Sorry! Sorry!” he apologized. Keiji shook his head and relaxed as water filled his gills again.</p><p>               “It’s fine.”</p><p>               Koutarou fidgeted. “Are…is your family ok?”</p><p>               Keiji blinked. “Yes…” he answered slowly.</p><p>               “It-it’s just that, you went toward the Leviathans! And you seemed worried. So I thought…maybe you thought your family was being attacked,” Koutarou hurried to explain himself.</p><p>               Keiji tilted his head. “Levia-thans?” he questioned.</p><p>               “Yeah! Those things that made that noise we heard? The really big sea creatures, with tentacles and teeth like knives!”</p><p>               “Oh.” Keiji’s voice was quiet. “I…” he trailed off for a moment. Koutarou stared at him with wide eyes, waiting for him to continue. “Um, they…no one was attacked,” he finished finally. He had an odd expression on his face, but Koutarou ignored it.</p><p>               “Oh, that’s good!” he exclaimed. His whole body relaxed and he smiled at Keiji. “I’m glad you and your family are safe.” Keiji gave him a hesitant smile back.</p><p>               “Yeah, me too.”</p><p> </p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. The Origins</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Keiji's mother tells the story of how they are related, very, very distantly, through the blood of Ancient Ones who abandoned them. It is one of his favourites, as it gives him a link, however small, to his adopted family, proof to him that he belongs.</p>
<p>Koutarou convinces Keiji to come to his pod and meet his family and friends.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Alright, I'm gonna start off with this: Every bit of mythology and history surrounding the leviathans, the merpeople, and the creation of other beings in this story is entirely made up. I did not research or try to use existing mythology. The leviathans are not any characters from the show or manga. They are all just ones I made up. So are the Ancient Ones.</p>
<p>Also, If you read the 'Lost' and have questions about Sea Dragons after this, hold onto them, because their origins will be discussed briefly as well, just not in this chapter. Have fun! Hope you like it. :)</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>               Keiji drifted aimlessly around in the water. His mother and sister were cleaning their scales. He’d finished earlier than them due to having far less than they did. He couldn’t help the small pang of jealousy that tugged at his heart. He wished he could look even slightly similar to his family. With a sigh, he tugged on a strand of hair and flipped onto his back. His sister looked up as he floated in the water.</p>
<p>               <em>“Is something wrong, Keiji?”</em> she asked him. Keiji glanced at her. He shrugged.</p>
<p>               <em>“I…it’s nothing,”</em> he answered as he looked away.</p>
<p>               <em>“If it was nothing, you wouldn’t be so distressed,” </em>their mother observed. <em>“I don’t like seeing my son upset. Tell me what is wrong, little one.”</em> Keiji sighed again and flipped over. His body faced her but he looked down rather than at his mother.</p>
<p>               <em>“…mother…can you tell me the story again? The one you said tells how we are related?” </em>He fidgeted with his fingers as he asked, heart beating quickly, nervous she would find out his reason for asking.</p>
<p>               <em>“Again? Why do you want to hear that old story, little one?”</em> Her voice was not accusatory, but gentle and melodic, a soothing deep rumble. Keiji winced inwardly.</p>
<p>               <em>“I just, I like hearing it, and you haven’t told it in a while,”</em> he mumbled, not totally lying. He hated keeping things from his mother. But would she tell him if she knew the part he was really interested in?</p>
<p>               His mother tilted her large, majestic head. She hummed thoughtfully and Keiji tensed, worried she sensed something was off. Finally, she agreed. <em>“Alright, I will tell it to you, if it makes you happy.”</em></p>
<p><em>               “A story!” </em>Amara cheered as she settled in the sand to listen. Half of her body stayed above the ocean floor, but the other half was buried comfortably in the sand. Keiji drifted over and snuggled into her side to listen.</p>
<p>               Their mother took a moment to collect her thoughts. When she started speaking, her voice was powerful and charming to listen to.</p>
<p>               <em>“In the beginning, you know, there were only the Ancient Ones. They found our world and helped it become what it is today. There were beings for each dwelling; Earth, Sky, Ocean, and The Beneath. The Beneath was the only one that was strictly connected to Ocean. There is no way to access it except for going to the very depths of our waters and crawling through the cracks in the ocean floor. The four Ancient Ones fought for rights to their lands; with the winner granted Sky, the next granted Earth, then Ocean, then The Beneath.</em></p>
<p>
  <em>               Each of the Ancient Ones ruled their domain and created the creatures within it. And each of them had one race they created in their own image. The Ancient One Bleda, ruler of Ocean, created his from his own body. He called them his children, and he passed on to each of them one of his gifts: ‘beast-speak’, also known as the gift of Understanding, shapeshifting, telepathy, foresight, hydro kinesis, and illusion. Each of them, in turn, could pass their gifts on to their own children, and they to their children, and so on. </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>               The Beneath was crowded, dark, and full of treacherous creatures. Kallikrates, the Ancient One ruling The Beneath was obsessed with power and often her creations reflected that more than anything. She was massive, with scales over her entire body and large tentacles that were rumored to be able to reach from the deepest depth of Ocean to the Sky, and she had teeth the size of a full-grown shark. Kallikrates was bitter over her loss and being trapped underneath Ocean. She continuously created beast after beast, each more powerful than the last, but none as powerful as her. Until they banded together and turned on her. </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>               Kallikrates fled The Beneath into Ocean and sealed any openings to her realm behind her. There she survived for several years. Eventually, she found Bleda. He was the most beautiful of the Ancient Ones, with a graceful tail, beautiful dark eyes, soft flowing hair, and scales that reflected all colours. She watched him warily, not wishing to be sent back to her failed realm. Bleda knew she was there, but he did not believe in hunting others and hurting them unnecessarily. Instead, he reached out to Kallikrates and gradually coaxed her into speaking with him.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>               Kallikrates was amazed. This Being, who had fought so valiantly for his Ocean, was being kind and gentle now. She was drawn to his beauty, and she began to realize there is power in his beauty. </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>               The rulers of Sky and Earth were not pleased about Kallikrates abandoning her realm and creations, and were even less pleased by her joining Bleda in Ocean. They argued and argued, until finally a war broke out. Bleda fought for his Ocean, but he could not hope to match the other two. Kallikrates saw that Bleda and his beloved Ocean were threatened, and she grew angry. In her rage and in her protective desires, her strength increased ten-fold, and she helped Bleda fight the rulers of Earth and Sky. Bleda was amazed by her sudden strength, and he saw that there was beauty in her power.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>               The two celebrated in the aftermath, and it was then that Bleda professed his love to Kallikrates. He changed his shape to be with her that night. Several months later, Kallikrates bore twins. The first, the oldest, resembled her in form, but was smaller. The second was as beautiful as Bleda himself, something none of his other children could compete with. The strength of the first child surpassed any of Kallikrates’s other creations. The love the two had for each other magnified the traits they’d fallen for and made them stronger than their vanity had been able to in their earlier creations. </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>               The mer integrated with the others easily and was soon able to mate and have children. Kallikrates noticed the eldest was alone, and so she and Bleda created another creature similar in looks, as it was the appearance of the eldest that drove all but their twin away from them. It is from these two that our kind descended. </em>
</p>
<p><em>               Over time, it became apparent that the younger twin and their descendants had inherited part of Bleda’s ability to Understand and were able to speak with and control the elder twin and their offspring. This made them feared by the twin and by the other children of Bleda. They were hunted and killed, until only one remained. That one hid away, keeping the secret of their powers from everyone, including their own children, in order that they and their offspring may continue to live.”</em> Here, their mother paused, as she always did, and her glowing eyes fixated on Keiji. <em>“I knew from the moment I met you, you were descended of that line. You are most beautiful, powerful, and I could feel the connection of kinship to you.”</em></p>
<p><em>               “I don’t feel beautiful, mother,”</em> Keiji protested with a shake of his head. His mother hummed and reached out to stroke his cheek with her tentacle. Keiji leaned into the motherly touch.</p>
<p><em>               “You are beautiful in my eyes, my little one.”</em> Her reply was gentle and quiet. His sister nudged him gently.</p>
<p>               <em>“You shouldn’t doubt yourself so much,”</em> she chided. Keiji smiled weakly, but then his expression sobered.</p>
<p>               <em>“Mother…what of the other Children of Bleda? What happened to them?”</em> He’d never asked before, but he never really cared before. He did love this story, because it gave him a connection to his family. But now, perhaps it could connect him to Koutarou…or at least explain why they looked similar.</p>
<p>               <em>“All creatures that are considered merpeople are descended from Children of Bleda,”</em> she answered. <em>“They separated, gathered in pods based on the abilities they inherited, and do not speak to each other often.”</em></p>
<p>               Keiji tilted his head and flicked his ear fins.<em> “If they are all offspring of Bleda, then why do we not go to them?”</em></p>
<p>               <em>“After the second twin was killed, and his offspring nearly all destroyed, the eldest twin and his offspring were hunted as well. The other Children of Bleda did not like having someone who was stronger than they were in the Ocean. As a consequence, we defended ourselves. Now, our two races avoid each other. It is better not to interact and avoid such blood shed again. It is not wise for us to seek out the mer.”</em> As she spoke, she stroked faint scars on her scales and her voice was distant. His mother’s eyes were sad, and Keiji was reminded that she was old, so much older than he could possibly hope to get. Amara bristled next to him.</p>
<p>               <em>“Were you there, mother? When the fighting happened?”</em> Keiji felt his heart pick up speed as he asked, but he felt the need to know like an unreachable itch. His mother met his eyes again and tipped her head in affirmation. Then she gave a slow, almost sad chuckle.</p>
<p>               <em>“You are quite curious today, my little one,”</em> she observed. Keiji felt his face heat up and he ducked his head.</p>
<p>               <em>“I…I just…um, I just was w-wondering,” </em>he mumbled.</p>
<p>               <em>“That is alright, my little one.”</em></p>
<p>Keiji raised his head slowly. He fidgeted with his fingers again. <em>“Um. Can I ask one more?”</em> His mother dipped her head in a nod. <em>“How come…how come Bleda and Kallikrates never stopped Bleda’s children from attacking the other two and killing their offspring?”</em> His mother did not move for several moments, merely stared at him. Next to him, Amara listened intently as well. When she finally did answer, their mother’s voice was cold and angry.</p>
<p>               <em>“Because they abandoned us. All of us.”</em> Keiji shivered.</p>
<p>***</p>
<p>               Keiji watched as Koutarou chased the fish again. He didn’t really see the point in chasing something if not to catch it and eat it, but Koutarou seemed to enjoy it. And he liked seeing Koutarou happy.</p>
<p>“So, you can hear what they say, too?” Keiji called to him. Koutarou nodded.</p>
<p>               “Yup! I can understand them, and I can control them! Everyone in my pod can,” he affirmed. He snatched at a fish that passed too close, but it darted just out of reach. “I’m the best one though! I can control almost any of them. Most of the others are limited to only a couple species. I can control all sorts of fish, whales, and even sharks!” Keiji hummed and tilted his head.</p>
<p>               “If you can do that, why don’t you use it to catch them? That’s what I do for myself when I hunt with my family,” he suggested.</p>
<p>               Koutarou stopped and turned to face him. “But that would take all the fun out of it. I’m not here to prove I can make them do what I want. I want to see if I’m fast enough to catch them and strong enough to hold on. If I control them, what’s the point?”</p>
<p>               Keiji watched as he turned back to the fish. “I suppose that makes sense.”</p>
<p>After a while, Koutarou finally caught one. He cried out in triumph and lifted it over his head. “Did you see that, Keiji?” He called excitedly. “Did you see? Did you see?” Keiji nodded.</p>
<p>               “I did. You were amazing,” he replied. A wide grin split Koutarou’s face and he whooped as he let the fish go free.</p>
<p>               “I’m amazing!” Koutarou shouted. He darted over to Keiji with a grin. Keiji couldn’t help but smile back. Koutarou lounged next to him in the sand. His smile dropped slightly and he sighed. “You know, no one else tells me that,” he confided. His eyes were distant and he absently dragged his fingers through the sand.</p>
<p>               Keiji tilted his head. “What do you mean?”</p>
<p>               “That I’m amazing. They all say I’m annoying. That I should grow up. That I won’t make a good pod leader.” Koutarou’s smile was completely gone now. “I just like to have fun. And when I see things that make me happy…I just can’t help it. I have to express it, you know?” He looked up into Keiji’s eyes. Keiji bit his lip and looked away.</p>
<p>               “I don’t really know what that’s like,” he mumbled. He poked gently at a shell half buried in the sand, and a little crab rose out of the ocean bed and scuttled away. Both of them watched the crab until it left their vision. Keiji turned back to Koutarou. “But I know what it’s like to feel like…left-out, I guess is what you’d call it.” Koutarou blinked.</p>
<p>               “What? You? No way! You’re…you’re…you…you’re so beautiful, and…and amazing! And cool! Who wouldn’t want to be around you?”</p>
<p>               Keiji started at his tone. “I, uh, don’t really look like my family. They love me, and they never are mean, but I don’t look like any of the others that we sometimes travel with either. And sometimes those are the ones who make me feel…like it’s a bad thing, that I’m <em>different.</em>”</p>
<p>               Koutarou frowned and opened his mouth, but Keiji cut him off.</p>
<p>               “It’s fine. I’m used to it. Besides…<em>you’re</em> not like that,” he added shyly. “I…like being around you.” Koutarou’s mouth snapped shut and he stared at Keiji. His cheeks slowly turned more and more pink, until he abruptly sat up and turned his face the other way. His tail was flicking in the water absently. Keiji blinked. <em>Did I say something to offend him?</em> He wondered. He was about to apologize, when Koutarou spoke.</p>
<p>               “Hey, what’s your family like?” he asked. His tone was not suspicious, just curious. Keiji sat up, still facing Koutarou, though the other mer continued to look away from him. His ear fins flicked, letting Keiji know he was listening.</p>
<p>               “Um. Well, it’s me, my mother, and my sister. We stick together all the time, and we hunt and play together. They, uh, they’re bigger than me. And stronger. And they have more scales. Um. And they’re more…majestic-looking, I think is the word,” he explained, trying to avoid using too much description. Koutarou had finally turned back to him.</p>
<p>               “Ehh? How come they’re so different?”</p>
<p>               “I’m adopted,” he mumbled, looking down.</p>
<p>               “Oh. Well then, no wonder you don’t look like them! That’s nothing to be worried about, you can’t help that,” Koutarou replied in a cheerful tone. Keiji looked up to find him smiling.</p>
<p>               “But-but they say I <em>am</em> related. Distantly.”</p>
<p>               Koutarou’s smile didn’t disappear. “That’s ok. I don’t look like all of my relatives, even the closer ones! Besides, you said they stay with you and you guys do everything together! They must really love you,” he observed. Keiji blinked.</p>
<p>               “Yeah…yeah, they do,” he agreed with a smile. Koutarou nodded.</p>
<p>               “Of course they do! Everyone should love you, you’re so cool!” Keiji blushed at his words. Koutarou stretched so he was leaning back on his hands. “So, what are their names?” His bright golden eyes remained fixed on Keiji and he looked really interested.</p>
<p>               “Ah. My sister is Amara. Her name…it means ‘grace’,” Keiji replied. He smiled. She really was graceful. He loved watching her hunt, her tentacles twisting and reaching through the water as if she were one with it.</p>
<p>               “And your mother?”</p>
<p>               “Ātaahua.” His smile grew as he thought of his mother. “Means ‘beautiful’.”</p>
<p>               “Those are nice names.”</p>
<p>               “Yeah,” Keiji agreed. He hummed to himself as he absently drew in the sand with his fingers.</p>
<p>               “…can I meet them some day?”</p>
<p>               The question caught Keiji off-guard, and he swung his gaze up to meet Koutarou’s, eyes wide. “M-meet them?” he echoed. Koutarou nodded.</p>
<p>               “Yeah. If that’s ok? I’d like to get to know your family,” he replied. Keiji opened his mouth and shut it, and opened it and shut it again. His mind whirred, trying to find a way to say no without hurting Koutarou’s feelings. As if sensing his thoughts, Koutarou continued, “Um, if not, then that’s ok. I don’t want to…push anyone.” His tone sounded a little deflated, but Keiji couldn’t help but take the out Koutarou had granted him.</p>
<p>               “Uh, yeah, it’s not really a g-good time…” he trailed off, seeing the brightness in Koutarou’s eyes dim. “Um, they’re just not…good with strangers. But, um, maybe someday?” he tacked on the last part in an attempt to make Koutarou less sad. It worked.</p>
<p>               “Really?” he asked, straightening up eagerly. Keiji leaned back a little.</p>
<p>               “Uh, yeah. S-sure,” he answered. Koutarou grinned.</p>
<p>               “Awesome!”</p>
<p>               Keiji responded with a weak smile. Koutarou smiled at him and his golden eyes shone.</p>
<p>               “Do you wanna meet my family, too?” he asked. His tail flicked and he leaned toward Keiji, waiting for an answer.</p>
<p>               “Y-your family…me?” Keiji stammered. Koutarou nodded eagerly.</p>
<p>               “My dad’s the pod leader, and my mom is in command of our fighting force. They’d like you! I know they would!”</p>
<p>               Keiji frowned slightly and bit his lip. “That sounds…intimidating,” he admitted. Koutarou waved it off.</p>
<p>               “Nah, they’re not bad,” he answered with a grin. Keiji hesitated. He took in Koutarou’s eager face and shining eyes.</p>
<p>               “…ok…if you say it’s ok, then it must be,” he mumbled finally. Koutarou’s grin grew even wider.</p>
<p>               “Yes!” he pumped his fist. “Meet me here early tomorrow, and then you can come and spend the whole day at my pod!”</p>
<p>               “Wait- the whole day?” Keiji thought about his mother and sister. Would they let him be away for an entire day?</p>
<p>               “Yup! That way you can get to know my family, and then maybe even see some of my podmates!”</p>
<p>               Keiji opened his mouth to protest, but the look of excitement on Koutarou’s face made the words die on his tongue. He shut his mouth and swallowed. “Um, ok,” he managed.</p>
<p>               “Awesome!”</p>
<p>***</p>
<p>               Keiji was early. Koutarou was nowhere to be seen. He’d slipped away right as his mother and sister were settling in for their rest. They preferred to be awake at night. Keiji yawned. It was getting more and more difficult to explain where he was during the day and why he needed to take naps at night.</p>
<p>               A flash of colour caught his eye and Keiji turned his attention to the colourful fish Koutarou liked to chase. He watched them flit back and forth and tilted his head. <em>Maybe it could be fun.</em> His tail flicked from side to side as he crept closer to the fish. His ears twitched and he listened intently.</p>
<p>               <em>Food. Food. Find food. Don’t get eaten. Find food.</em></p>
<p>               It was a pretty steady chorus in the mind of the fish he stalked. He crept closer and closer, but forgot to pay attention to his surroundings. Controlling fish to come to him had apparently made him a rather sloppy hunter. Keiji knocked over a rock, alerting the fish to his presence behind it.</p>
<p>               <em>Danger! Danger! Flee! Flee!</em></p>
<p>               Keiji mentally cursed himself and darted after the fish as it fled. He could hear it calling out to others as it passed, alerting them to the danger. Then it turned toward a hole in a rock. Keiji reached out and just barely managed to brush its fins as the fish slipped inside. When he did, he was met with a startling image. It was of him, but massive, towering over himself, with an air of danger about him. Startled, he yanked his hand back. He’d forgotten touching the fish could show him visions of what they saw.</p>
<p>***</p>
<p>               Koutarou was early. Keiji was nowhere in sight and the sun hadn’t even begun to rise yet. He slipped away before his family woke. He was so excited to show Keiji his family and pod, he couldn’t sleep. <em>And maybe, when he sees what a pod is like, he’ll want to stay! And then, when I meet his family, they can stay too! And then we can see each other all the time, every day! And we can get to know each other even better! And he won’t have to worry about his family being safe because our pod will protect them! We’ll protect each other!</em></p>
<p>               His thoughts were only broken off by a passing school of fish. He grinned at the bright colours and started chasing them around. After a few minutes, he gave up the chase. He sighed. Keiji still wasn’t here. He looked around, and his eyes landed on a large rock not far from where they were to meet. A mischievous gleam entered his eyes and he grinned. Koutarou swam over to the rock and settled himself on top of it. It was positioned so that anyone below it wouldn’t be able to see a mer on top of it, as long as he were laying flat on it. <em>I’ll surprise Keiji! I can’t wait to see the look on his face!</em> With a small laugh, Koutarou hunkered down to wait. And wait. And wait. The first rays of sunlight hit the water and filtered down…and he was starting to feel his lack of sleep from the night before. <em>I’ll just close my eyes for a minute, </em>he thought as his eyelids fluttered shut.</p>
<p>               <em>Danger! Danger! Flee! Flee!</em> The cries of the fish tore through his sleep and Koutarou bolted upright. His eyes darted around, looking for the danger, until he saw Keiji. Keiji, in all his beauty and grace, stumbling through the water after a little fish. Koutarou cocked his head and watched. Keiji darted this way and that, always just a second too slow to catch the little fish. A smirk started to grow on Koutarou’s face. When the fish landed safely in a hole, with Keiji failing to grab it, the smirk became a full-blown smile.</p>
<p>               <em>He’s too cute,</em> Koutarou thought to himself. <em>And a bit helpless as a hunter. But that’s ok! When he stays with my pod, I’ll hunt for the both of us! I’ll make sure he gets taken good care of!</em> Koutarou nodded to himself, certain in his decision. Slowly, he descended from the rock, all thoughts of surprising Keiji gone with this new revelation.</p>
<p>               “Hey! Hey! Keiji!” he called. Keiji whipped around to face him, fins flared out in surprise. Koutarou couldn’t help but stop to admire him. He really was beautiful. “You finally made it!”</p>
<p>               Keiji frowned. “What do you mean? I was here before you,” he replied.</p>
<p>               Koutarou shook his head. He gestured to the rock. “I fell asleep up there waiting for you.” Keiji blinked and stared past him at the rock. Then his gaze returned to Koutarou and he looked bashful.</p>
<p>               “I-I’m sorry,” he mumbled. Koutarou shook his head again.</p>
<p>               “Nah, it’s ok! I was up really early because I was so excited I couldn’t sleep. It’s still kinda early! Anyway, let’s go!” He motioned for Keiji to follow and started off toward his pod. In a moment, Keiji was at his side.</p>
<p>               “You were that excited, that you couldn’t sleep?” he asked. Koutarou nodded.</p>
<p>               “Yup! Excited for you to meet my family!” he answered. Keiji pursed his lips and didn’t reply. Koutarou watched him out of the corner of his eye. “Are you nervous?”</p>
<p>               Keiji sighed. “Yeah.”</p>
<p>               “They’re all really nice, I promise!”</p>
<p>               Keiji chewed on his bottom lip. “I don’t think that they’re not…but what if they just don’t like <em>me</em>? I’ve never met anyone like…<em>you</em>…before. What if you’re the only one in the ocean besides my family that likes me at all?”</p>
<p>               “Ehhh, you shouldn’t think like that, Keiji!” Koutarou chided. He flipped onto his side as he swam so he could face Keiji. “You’re really cool!” Keiji’s cheeks flushed pink. He glanced over at Koutarou before he turned his gaze forward again.</p>
<p>               “Y-yeah?”</p>
<p>               “Yeah.” Satsified, Koutarou flipped back on his front and continued swimming to his pod in silence with Keiji. It didn’t take long for them to arrive.</p>
<p>***</p>
<p>               Keiji, it turned out, really had nothing to worry about. Koutarou’s parents were, in fact, very nice. After spending the morning being introduced to everyone and touring around the pod’s home, he started to relax. Everyone was friendly. Everyone had a smile for him. And, everyone looked similar to him. It was amazing. Everywhere he turned, he was met by the sight of mer with scales on their tails, bare torsos, fins rather than tentacles, and <em>hair</em>.</p>
<p>               He couldn’t help but enjoy himself, and he lost track of time. It was well into the evening and the sun was setting, but he was being chased around in a game of tag with Koutarou and a few other pod members. Keiji couldn’t remember the last time he had this much fun just swimming around, and he couldn’t help but laugh. Koutarou, who was chasing him, grinned. He swiped out at him, but Keiji ducked out of the way. He smiled and turned about, only to stop abruptly. Koutarou latched onto his wrist.</p>
<p>               A long, low, wail rumbled through the water. Everyone else froze, too. Keiji’s ears flicked once, and the wail sounded again. <em>“Where are you? Son! Where are you, my little one? You are missing from us!”</em></p>
<p>               Keiji turned and smiled nervously at Koutarou. He pulled his arm away from the other. “Ah, I’m sorry, I have to go,” he mumbled. He turned to leave, but Koutarou grabbed his arm again.</p>
<p>               “You can’t! That’s the leviathans! You could get hurt if you go out while they’re about!” he protested. Keiji pulled on his arm, but Koutarou refused to let go.</p>
<p>               “No, it’s ok! I just have to get back!” Keiji yanked his arm with all his strength and finally got free of Koutarou’s grasp.</p>
<p>               “But, it’s dangerous!” one of Koutarou’s podmates, Yukie, cried out. She had her hands on her hips. Keiji shook his head.</p>
<p>               “I’ll be fine,” he assured them. Yukie gave him a worried frown.</p>
<p>               “Are you sure?” she asked.</p>
<p>               “Yukie! We can’t let him leave! It’s dangerous!” Koutarou turned to her, pleading her to take his side.</p>
<p>               “Look, I said it’s fine,” Keiji cut in, his heart picking up speed as he heard another cry, this time closer. “I’ll be fine. I’ll see you tomorrow, at the same place, Koutarou. I promise.” With that he turned and darted off.</p>
<p>               “But! But! Keiji! Wait!” Koutarou called. Keiji winced and flipped onto his back so he could call to Koutarou as he left.</p>
<p>               “I promise! I’ll see you tomorrow!” He shouted. Koutarou looked unsure, but he nodded anyway. Keiji smiled and turned back over. He ducked his head down and sped up.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Stay With Me, Darling</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Keiji gets a scolding from his mother.</p>
<p>Koutarou is worried, and he wishes Keiji would just stay with Fukurodani Pod.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>               Keiji shifted uncomfortably in front of his mother. She stared him down for several minutes, before she spoke. <em>“Where were you today, my son?”</em></p>
<p>               Keiji fidgeted with his fingers and looked down. <em>“I was out…just exploring again. Mother.”</em></p>
<p>
  <em>               “Why did you not come back in an appropriate amount of time?”</em>
</p>
<p><em>               “I returned as soon as I heard you call,”</em> Keiji tried to appease her.</p>
<p>               <em>“That is not what I asked.”</em> Behind her, Keiji could see his sister flinch at their mother’s tone. He hung his head.</p>
<p>               <em>“I got distracted. I was…having fun. And I lost track of the time,”</em> he admitted. He hoped she wouldn’t ask what exactly he was doing. He didn’t like lying to her, but he also didn’t think she would approve of him meeting with merpeople.</p>
<p>               His mother tilted her head. <em>“You were having fun?”</em> Keiji nodded. She hummed. <em>“By yourself?”</em> Keiji met her glowing blue eyes, but said nothing. His mother seemed to take that as a response. <em>“It is most…unlike you, to enjoy wandering off alone…but if you are happy, then I suppose…after all, you are nearly two centuries old…very well, I will allow this. But you would do well to return before sunset. It can be dangerous for you by yourself after dark,”</em> she concluded. Keiji felt all the tension leave his body.</p>
<p>               <em>“Thank you, mother,”</em> he answered. A tug of guilt settled in his gut. Keiji ignored it. His mother hummed to him and stroked his hair with one of her limbs. Keiji leaned into her touch and closed his eyes with a smile.</p>
<p>               <em>“You were awake all day while we slept. Take some time to rest now. Amara will watch over you and I will hunt,” </em>his mother ordered. Keiji nodded and curled up in the sand. Amara crawled over to him and wrapped around him, completely obscuring him from view.</p>
<p>               <em>“Sleep well, little brother,”</em> she murmured. Keiji smiled and drifted to sleep.</p>
<p>***</p>
<p>               Koutarou swam in a circle and chewed on his lip anxiously. “What if he got eaten?! What if his whole family did??!” He asked for the thirteenth time. He stopped swimming and turned to look at his friends. “How am I supposed to protect him with our pod if he’s been eaten?!!”</p>
<p>               “Hey, calm down,” Akinori stated. “He’s probably fine, right? I mean, you said he left like that before and came back…so he must just have gone to his family so they didn’t worry, or something…” He ran a hand through his brown hair. “Also, what’s this about ‘protecting him’?”</p>
<p>               Koutarou’s face pinkened. “I-I never said…”</p>
<p>               “You definitely just did,” Yamato piped up from where he was lounging on the ocean floor.</p>
<p>               Koutarou whirled around to glare at him. “No!”</p>
<p>               “Ehhh, so you’ve got a crush, then?” Haruki, the youngest of the four, teased. He was up on the top of the flat rock in Koutarou and Keiji’s meeting place, but he flipped off his stomach and drifted down. “Kou’s got a crush! Kou’s got a crush!”</p>
<p>               “Stop!” Koutarou protested, cheeks bright red. He shoved Haruki away and crossed his arms. “You guys, this is <em>serious!</em> What if…what if he’s…what if…he could be <em>dead!!!”</em></p>
<p>               “Who could be dead?” a soft voice called from behind him. Koutarou spun around, eyes wide.</p>
<p>               “KEEIIIIJIIIII!” he yelled and launched himself at the other mer. Keiji backed up, but not fast enough, and he was engulfed in Koutarou’s arms. “I’m so glad you’re ok!! Is your family alright?! Did you guys get attacked? Are they hurt? Can you answer me? Keiji??!!”</p>
<p>               “Let him go, Kou. He can’t breathe,” Yamato cut in. He straightened up to join the other two crowding around Koutarou and Keiji. Koutarou released him immediately and pulled back slightly, keeping his hands on Keiji’s shoulders. Keiji inhaled deeply and sighed.</p>
<p>               “Are you ok?” Akinori hovered over Koutarou’s shoulder, watching Keiji with worried eyes.</p>
<p>               Keiji nodded. “I-I’m fine,” he gasped, gills flared. His ear fins twitched as he struggled to catch his breath again.</p>
<p>               “Are you sure?”</p>
<p>               “Yeah…yeah, I’m good.” He met Koutarou’s eyes with his. “My family’s ok, none of us were attacked by anything.” Koutarou’s shoulders relaxed.</p>
<p>               “Good. Good. Yeah. That’s…good,” he mumbled, almost inaudibly.</p>
<p>               “See? See, Kou? He did just fine without you ‘protecting’ him,” Haruki teased again with a grin. Keiji’s ears flicked and he gently pulled out of Koutarou’s grasp.</p>
<p>               “ ‘Protecting’? Protecting me?” He asked. His face was blank, but his tone sounded irritated.</p>
<p>               “Not…not that you need protecting! But, uh, it would be safer with…with a Pod, you know? Then you wouldn’t have to run off to find your family every time you were worried about them, right? Right?” Koutarou swam forward a bit, but Keiji just arched an eyebrow.</p>
<p>               “We don’t need any protection. We do just fine on our own. I don’t worry about my family,” he replied coolly. “We can take care of ourselves.” Koutarou blinked and backed up.</p>
<p>               “R-right.” He gave a small smile and lifted his hands in an appeasing manner. “I, uh, of course.”</p>
<p>               “Woah, woah, easy there,” Akinori cut in. He frowned at Keiji. “You know, it wasn’t an insult to you. He was just worried about you.” Keiji tilted his head.</p>
<p>               “I just…don’t understand why,” he mumbled.</p>
<p>               “Are you kidding?!” Haruki exclaimed and shot forward into his space and grabbed Keiji by the shoulders. His brown eyes were wide with disbelief. “Leviathans are crazy huge and dangerous!! They have these disgusting, massive tentacles and…and…teeth the size of our arms and their teeth are sharp enough to tear you to shreds with one bite! They’re <em>monsters</em>! And the biggest thing is, <em>no one</em> can control them! They came from under the ocean, like Sea Dragons.”</p>
<p>               Keiji ripped himself away from Haruki. His eyes were cold and he glared. “I don’t know what a Sea Dragon is, but L-levi-athans are not <em>monsters</em>. They’re children of Bleda.”</p>
<p>               “…what? No! Bleda would never make something like that. They followed Kallikrates up through the cracks in the ocean floor, with the Sea Dragons, when she tried to take over the ocean!” Haruki argued.</p>
<p>               “Yeah, he’s right, Keiji. They’re evil. You can’t trust them,” Yamato agreed. Keiji turned his glare on him.</p>
<p>               “I don’t know what stories you’ve been told,” he stated calmly, “but you’re wrong.”</p>
<p>               “I don’t know how you can think they’re anything <em>but</em> monsters,” Haruki insisted.</p>
<p>               Keiji’s glare sharpened and he straightened. His fins flared out and he hissed, “Shut <em>up</em>! You don’t know <em>anything</em>!” Haruki, Akinori, and Yamato backed up. Koutarou swam in front of them and flared his fins out protectively.</p>
<p>               “Don’t threaten them,” he snapped, golden eyes sharp and body tense.</p>
<p>               Keiji held his glare. “They shouldn’t talk about things they don’t understand,” he retorted.</p>
<p>               Koutarou shook his head. “You’re the one who isn’t understanding. Leviathans are <em>dangerous</em>. We have to be careful around them. You keep throwing your safety away and…and running off during dangerous times! You need to be more careful!”</p>
<p>               “But they’re not…”</p>
<p>               “They <em>are</em>. If you don’t want to watch out for yourself, then I will.” Koutarou’s eyes were full of concern. Then his gaze hardened and he snarled, “I swear, if I ever see a leviathan come near you, I will tear it apart before it has the chance to get to you.”</p>
<p>               A hurt look flashed across Keiji’s face and his fins drooped slightly. He lowered his gaze to the ocean floor. Koutarou inched forward until he was right in front of Keiji. He reached out and tilted Keiji’s head up to meet his eyes. To Koutarou’s surprise, his eyes looked sad. They stared at each other for a long moment before Keiji spoke.</p>
<p>               “And what if I don’t want you to?” his voice was soft and trembled slightly. Koutarou chewed his bottom lip as he looked into Keiji’s eyes. Every fibre of his body was telling him to scoop the other one up and drag him back to the Pod for safety, whether he wanted it or not. But the look in Keiji’s eyes told him that if he did, he would never trust Koutarou again. He looked away and sighed.</p>
<p>               “If…you really don’t…then…I-I guess I won’t.” Koutarou glanced back at Keiji and saw his ears had perked up and he was watching Koutarou curiously now.</p>
<p>               “You…won’t?”</p>
<p>               Koutarou stiffened and felt his heart stutter. <em>I said the wrong thing! Dammit! I knew I shouldn’t have said that!</em> “Um, I…”</p>
<p>               “Thank you.”</p>
<p>               Koutarou blinked. “Wh-what?”</p>
<p>               Keiji smiled softly at him. His eyes, which had been so cold earlier, now sparkled and his fins no longer drooped sadly. “Thank you,” he repeated. He paused and tilted his head. “I think…it’s just…I don’t think creatures…any creatures, should be called monsters. I think…they’re just living, you know?” Koutarou regarded him for a few moments before answering.</p>
<p>               “I…guess you’re right.” Keiji’s smile grew.</p>
<p>               The three mer behind Koutarou watched the interaction curiously.</p>
<p>               “You know,” Akinori started. He paused as he watched Keiji and Koutarou interact. “I think we might have finally found someone just as crazy and weird as Koutarou.” The other two nodded their agreement vigorously.</p>
<p>***</p>
<p>               Over the next two weeks, Keiji fell into a pattern. He would sleep part of the night, then wake and have time with his family. After his mother and sister were asleep, he would leave to see Koutarou. Sometimes, Koutarou brought friends. Other times, they were alone. Keiji liked it best when they were alone. Koutarou’s other friends were nice, but he just wasn’t as comfortable around them. Today was one of the days they were alone together.</p>
<p>               “So there’s just you, your mother, and your sister? That’s it?” Koutarou asked. Keiji nodded absently as he swam above a group of colourful fish. “You guys never have anyone else around?” Keiji hummed thoughtfully as he swam.</p>
<p>               “Well, I guess there are others who show up once in a while. It’s kind of like your pod, but we aren’t all always together. We can go months without seeing each other, but everyone knows who everyone else is,” he explained as he focused on the fish. He could hear them calling out <em>food. Food. Over here. Over here. This way. Food. </em>He focused on their voices and concentrated on not controlling them, but predicting their movements.</p>
<p>               “That’s so…weird,” Koutarou observed. He watched Keiji adjust his position over the fish again. He reached down to snatch one, but Koutarou could tell his movement was too slow. The fish caught on and darted away. Keiji gave a small frown, but shook it off. He continued “I don’t know if I’d be able to go that long without seeing my friends.”</p>
<p>               “…like I said before, I don’t really have friends. The others think I’m…weird…and I don’t look like them,” Keiji answered hesitantly. He found another small group of fish and started to follow after them.</p>
<p>               “They must be crazy then,” Koutarou determined. Keiji gave him a half-smile and glanced his way before turning his gaze back to the fish in front of him.</p>
<p>               “What makes you say that?”</p>
<p>               Koutarou hummed and floated on his back in the water, head turned to the side and gaze locked on Keiji. “Because you’re beautiful.” Keiji started and drew himself upright. In doing so, his tail brushed a rock and startled the fish.</p>
<p>               “Ah!” he cried and tried to grab one before they all darted away, but he was unsuccessful. His shoulders slumped. Koutarou laughed.</p>
<p>               “You’re kind of a lousy hunter, you know?” He stated.</p>
<p>               Keiji glared at him. His cheeks were bright pink. “I would’ve done just fine if you weren’t distracting me! And if I was using my ability, I could catch them easily.”</p>
<p>               Koutarou grinned and laughed more. Keiji sighed. He swam over and floated on his back next to Koutarou. The sun was high in the sky above, and the rays shone down through the water, creating pretty patterns on their skin and scales.</p>
<p>               “You know,” Koutarou commented, eyes now fixed on the fish passing by above them, “I can hunt really well. I could always hunt for you and you would never have to worry about being hungry.”</p>
<p>               Keiji shot him a glance. “Yeah? And what would you do when I migrate with my family?”</p>
<p>               Koutarou bit his lip and worried it between his teeth. He always got like this when the topic of Keiji leaving was brought up. “I was kinda hoping…you might stay.”</p>
<p>               Keiji sighed. “Kou, we’ve been over this. I don’t need to stay with your pod for protection, and neither does my family. Your pod and my family would probably not even get along.”</p>
<p>               “I didn’t mean to stay for protection…but like, to stay…with me. Just you. And me.”</p>
<p>               Keiji froze. His heart pounded wildly in his chest and blood roared in his head. “Wh-what do you mean?” he whispered, eyes wide. He turned to look at Koutarou, surprised to see the other mer already staring at him.</p>
<p>               “I…like you. I really, really like you, Keiji,” Koutarou replied. His golden eyes were warm and shimmered with excitement. “I want you to stay with me. Not to be protected…but to be with me.”</p>
<p>               Despite the abundance of water around, Keiji’s mouth suddenly felt dry. He swallowed and turned himself upright. “I…um…I don’t…I uh…” he stammered, cheeks burning. He tugged on one of his fingers anxiously. Koutarou watched him intently. Keiji felt a shiver crawl down his spine, and it wasn’t an unpleasant feeling. Startled at his own thoughts, he turned away and fiddled with his fingers.</p>
<p>               Arms wrapped around him from behind and he felt the warmth of Koutarou’s body pressed against his. His body automatically tensed at the embrace, but he relaxed as Koutarou’s hands pressed over his own, stilling the movements of his fingers. He felt Koutarou’s nose brush against his ear fin, then his jaw.</p>
<p>               “I really like you, Keiji,” he murmured. A strange feeling welled up in Keiji’s chest, and it made it difficult to speak.</p>
<p>               “I…l-like you…too,” he finally managed. He felt Koutarou’s face angle downward so his mouth was brushing against the junction between Keiji’s neck and shoulder.</p>
<p>               “Yeah?”</p>
<p>               Keiji felt his cheeks heat up even more. “Y-yeah.”</p>
<p>               “Will you stay with me?”</p>
<p>               Keiji hesitated. “I…” Koutarou rubbed the backs of Keiji’s hands with his fingers. “I…like you. But…”</p>
<p>               “But?”</p>
<p>               Keiji swallowed and turned around, pulling himself away from Koutarou in the process. He stared up into warm golden eyes. “But…I don’t know if I’m ready to leave my family…yet,” he finished quietly. He waited for the rejection, for the anger that he wouldn’t stay, for the hurt to come across Koutarou’s face. None of that happened. In fact, Koutarou’s expression brightened.</p>
<p>               “I’ll wait for you, then,” he answered simply. Keiji blinked.</p>
<p>               “You…would wait for me?” He could feel his hands tremble so he clasped them together to keep Koutarou from seeing. Koutarou nodded.</p>
<p>               “Yup! I’ll wait as long as it takes. I want to spend the rest of my life around you, but if you need time, then I can wait.” He grinned at Keiji. Keiji felt his heart leap and he smiled back. Right before he launched himself at Koutarou and wrapped his arms around him in a tight hug. He felt Koutarou stiffen with surprise, but then relax and wrap his arms around Keiji. Keiji could not keep the smile off his face.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. All of Me Loves All of You</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Keiji and Koutarou spend time apart, interacting with their families and friends.</p><p>When they do get together, they are endangered.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>               Keiji smiled and hummed to himself as he twisted through the water in lazy circles. The moon was full and bright tonight and it cast pretty patterns on everything through the water. He watched the light shine and dance over his sister’s scales and the sand. His mother was out on her own, talking to some more of their kind who had started migration early. He could hear the distant melody of their voices. Everything was beautiful tonight. Amara reached up with a tentacle and wrapped it around him, startling Keiji out of his thoughts and gaining his attention.</p><p>               <em>“You seem very…content, Little brother,” </em>Amara observed. Her voice was soft and not judgemental, but curious. <em>“Has something good happened?”</em></p><p>               Keiji hesitated. He didn’t want to imagine his sister’s reaction when she found out he was hanging around merpeople…or that one had asked him to stay and live with him forever, so he shrugged. <em>“It’s not really anything unusual. I’m just…happy,”</em> he replied. His sister tilted her head.</p><p>               <em>“That’s good,”</em> she replied as she stretched her limbs and shook some sand off her scales. <em>“But, I do have to wonder what could have happened to make the ever-serious little Keiji so happy that he hums and ignores me when I ask him to hunt?”</em></p><p>               Keiji blinked. <em>“You…asked me to hunt?”</em></p><p>               Amara gave a low laugh. <em>“I tried to get your attention twice before I grabbed you.”</em> She released him and straightened herself to her full height. She wasn’t nearly as large as their mother, but she was definitely big. Keiji gave an apologetic shrug.</p><p>               <em>“</em><em>I’m sorry. I guess I was just lost in thought,”</em> he mumbled. <em>“Everything looks so pretty tonight, and I can’t help but feel really happy.”</em></p><p>               Amara hummed. <em>“Well, that is good. You’re too melancholy most of the time,”</em> she teased.</p><p>               <em>“Wha-No, I am not!!”</em> Keiji spluttered in protest. Amara laughed at him again. She nudged him with her tentacle, just hard enough to send him spinning a short distance. Keiji frowned up at her. <em>“Not fair! You’re much bigger than me!”</em></p><p>               <em>“Learn to work around that, little brother,”</em> Amara chuckled. She stretched herself upward and twisted off to the left. <em>“Come, I’m hungry. If you don’t come now, I won’t leave anything for you.”</em></p><p><em>               “Hey!” </em>Keiji called after her, indignantly. He rushed to catch up. Amara laughed at him all the while. He swam hard, while Amara drifted almost lazily ahead of him. He felt frustrated at his lack of progress in catching up to her. If only she weren’t so much bigger. If only he were larger.</p><p>               Keiji was so distracted by his thoughts he didn’t realize Amara stopped until he ran into one of her tentacles. Confused, Keiji pulled back, blinking. He looked up at his sister, who was completely still. Her face was turned away from him and she stared, unblinking, at the water ahead of them. Keiji’s ears flicked and turned, trying to take in any noise he could. At first, heard nothing…but then, there was a low noise, like a combination of a hiss and growl. His blood turned to ice.</p><p>               <em>“The Disgraced Serpents,”</em> Amara hissed. <em>“Why are they here now? They usually don’t come until later.”</em></p><p>Keiji shook his head and tugged on his sister’s scales. <em>“Amara, that doesn’t matter. We need to go! We can’t stand up to those.”</em> Amara didn’t move. Keiji tugged on her again, right as he heard another rasping noise from the serpents. <em>“Amara! Amara, we need to go! There’s no way we can fight this thing. Even mother avoids them!”</em> Again, Amara stayed put. <em>“AMARA!”</em></p><p>               Finally, his sister broke her stare and turned away. She scooped Keiji up and carried him close to her. He tucked into her chest and listened to her heartbeat, fast and erratic, as they sped through the water.</p><p>               She finally stopped when they were back to their sleeping grounds. Both of them stayed tucked together and listened. They heard nothing besides the normal sounds of ocean night life. Amara relaxed her hold on him and Keiji slipped out of her grasp with a relieved sigh.</p><p>               <em>“That’s not good,” </em>he mumbled absently. Amara nodded.</p><p>               <em>“They shouldn’t be here at this time. We need to let mother know. It’s dangerous for all of us if they’re here,”</em> she agreed. Keiji bit his lip as the words sunk in. Would Koutarou know about these creatures? Would he be safe from them with his pod? His fins started to tremble and he felt sick. Amara noticed and gently stroked his hair. <em>“Don’t worry, Keiji. We will figure out a way to be safe.”</em></p><p>Keiji started at her touch, but he met her glowing eyes and forced himself to relax his body. He nodded and shot her a strained smile, even though the words threw his head into more turmoil. He would have to leave Koutarou sooner than he wanted.</p><p>***</p><p>               Koutarou smirked as he and his group closed in on the school of fish. This would be a productive hunt. They crept closer silently and surrounded the group, each one tuned in to the fish’s words, making sure the prey was unaware of them. Once they were all in position, Koutarou nodded and they swarmed forward as one, swooping in and scooping up fish for the Pod.</p><p>               The fish scrambled immediately, unsure where to flee. Silver scales flashed and squirmed before getting caught and quickly, mercifully, dispatched. Most of them were good at keeping the blood to a minimum…but Haruki was young. This was his first hunt. Koutarou saw the younger mer struggle with the agile fish and he pursed his lips as the blood started to drift around him. This wasn’t good. With the amount of thrashing, and the blood, it was only a matter of time until Haruki caught the attention of….yup. There was a shark. Koutarou heard it before he saw it; the chant of <em>blood, blood, movement, food, food, food!</em> He shoved the fish he held into a small bag they each had to carry their kills and darted forward. He grabbed Haruki and dragged him away from the mess of blood and the mutilated fish he’d been trying to hold onto.</p><p>               “Wa-wait, Koutarou! I can…” Haruki trailed off as a large shape came into view and rushed to the injured fish. His eyes widened and he squeaked slightly. Koutarou adjusted his arm around Haruki and backed up some more. The other mer in their party flocked to him and waited, knives out and faces set with determination. Haruki struggled to get his knife out too, and Koutarou released his grip on him.</p><p>               “Just wait,” he commanded the others. Haruki looked up at him with a confused expression.</p><p>               “But…”</p><p>               Koutarou shook his head. “It wants food. You should be able to hear it. If we stay out of its way and don’t make it feel threatened, it shouldn’t attack us. We don’t want to kill needlessly.”</p><p>               Haruki swallowed and nodded. “R-right.” They watched the shark tear into the fish and eat its fill. Then, it turned and swam away. Koutarou waited until he was sure it was gone, then he relaxed. The others followed suit. He turned to Haruki.</p><p>               “You need to be more careful when you cut into them. We want as little blood as possible, otherwise, this happens,” he instructed. Haruki nodded.</p><p>               “R-right.”</p><p>               Koutarou glanced at Haruki’s bag, which was half full, and smiled. He surveyed the rest of the group and saw they all had full bags. “Looks like we have enough,” he announced. “We can go home now.” The others nodded and turned to leave. Haruki looked at his catch and then the other mer.</p><p>               “…I didn’t catch very much,” he stated quietly. Koutarou regarded him in silence for a moment before he responded.</p><p>               “Hey, hey, hey. It was your first hunt. No one catches the most on their first hunt. Except me,” he added with a grin. Haruki laughed a little. Koutarou’s expression sobered as he continued, “you’ll catch more and do better next time.”</p><p>               “Yeah?” Haruki looked up at him with a hopeful expression. Koutarou nodded with a grin.</p><p>               “Yup! I guarantee it!”</p><p>***</p><p>               “So you were attacked by a shark?” Keiji’s tone was worried. Koutarou shook his head.</p><p>               “Nah, the shark just wanted food. We just waited for it to leave. If it charged at us, I would’ve used my beast-speak to turn it around and send it away,” he clarified. Keiji shot him an impressed look and Koutarou felt a swell of pride inside. He grinned.</p><p>               “You care a lot about your pod members,” Keiji observed. He had a smile on his face as he spoke. Koutarou nodded eagerly.</p><p>               “Of course! They’re my friends. And, I’m gonna be the pod leader someday. It’ll be my job to make sure everyone survives and is safe!” He stretched as he spoke. A bright yellow fish flashed by and caught his eye. Koutarou turned and started following after it, determined to try and catch it.</p><p>               Keiji stretched and joined him. “That’s…really impressive,” he stated. Koutarou glanced at him from the corner of his eye. Keiji’s gaze was totally focused on the fish in front of them.</p><p>               “Thanks.” Koutarou backed off from the fish slightly. He watched as Keiji continued to stalk it. Koutarou reached out and stroked his back. Keiji started slightly and looked back over his shoulder. “Back off a bit,” Koutarou instructed gently. “The angle of the light right now…if you go for it now, it’ll see your shadow first and get scared and then you won’t be able to catch it.” Keiji nodded and backed up a little. They continued to trail the fish for a moment. It switched directions abruptly and inspected a rock in the sand. “…Now!” Koutarou urged quietly. Keiji lunged forward and grabbed the fish. Immediately, he was bombarded by its voice: <em>danger! Danger! Help! Escape! Escape! Escape!</em> He shook his head and stared at the little yellow fish in his hands.</p><p>               “…I caught it. Without forcing it to come to me…” Keiji turned to Koutarou with a smile. “I caught it!” Koutarou grinned.</p><p>               “I knew you would!” he boasted as if he was the one who’d caught the fish. Keiji laughed and released the fish. It darted away, confused, but relieved it wasn’t getting eaten. Koutarou threw an arm around Keiji’s shoulders casually and leaned on him. “You’re amazing, Keiji!”</p><p>               Keiji’s cheeks turned pink. “Th-thanks.” Koutarou hummed and leaned his cheek on Keiji’s shoulder. He linked the fingers of his free hand with Keiji’s and brought their joined hands up to Keiji’s chest to rest there. He felt Keiji tense for a moment, so he stilled and waited for him to relax. Eventually, he melted against Koutarou. They floated like that for a while, holding each other and enjoying the warmth of being so close.</p><p>               A sudden, distant roar startled them both and they broke apart. Koutarou tilted his head and listened. The roar came again, no closer than before, and there was an answer, but it was difficult to determine with the echoes of the first voice still ringing in his ears. He glanced at Keiji and was surprised to see him tense, wide-eyed, and trembling. <em>He’s afraid. Whatever that was, he knows it, and he’s terrified.</em> Koutarou reached out to comfort him, but was stopped by another, closer growl.</p><p>***</p><p>               Keiji had enjoyed the closeness of Koutarou. Until the roar. He leapt apart from the other mer and listened, heart racing in his chest, trying to determine how far the sound was exactly. Another roar sounded and he couldn’t stop the tremor that ran through him. <em>Bad. Bad. This is BAD,</em> the thoughts ran through his head.</p><p>               The roar was still echoing in his ears, when the voice came again, this time as a growl, and this time…closer. Keiji’s eyes widened and he backed up.</p><p>               “Keiji! What’s wrong? Do you know what’s going on?” Koutarou glanced between the direction of the sound and him, tail flicking and fins flared.</p><p>               Keiji shook his head. “We…we need to leave,” he whispered.</p><p>               Koutarou didn’t argue. “Ok, ok, let’s…”</p><p>               A screech interrupted him, and a shape rose up from behind a large rock in the distance. It sped toward them faster than they could react and crashed to the sand in front of them in a bloody mess. It was massive, at least as big as mother, and covered completely in scales. Its body was narrow and twisted and turned in the water. A mouth opened to reveal a cavern of fangs of varying sizes; some the length of his forearm, some no longer than the palm of his hand. Short legs, in comparison to its stature, were tipped with sharp claws. Keiji felt his heart drop to his stomach and dread burned through his veins.</p><p>               <em>“Disgraced Serpent,”</em> he growled in his other language. The beast stopped writhing and fixed its gaze on him. There was a moment of silence. Then it spoke in the Leviathan’s tongue.</p><p>               <em>“You speak the language of Kallikrates. And you would call me disgraced?”</em> the serpent hissed. It flexed its body and lifted its great head to look down on them.</p><p>               “Keiji! Keiji, are you <em>speaking </em>to that thing?” Koutarou asked. His voice was somewhere between shocked and awed. Keiji ignored him for the moment. The Serpent was injured. One of it’s fins was torn and there was a long gash down its side. Blood tainted the water around it.</p><p>               <em>“You are disgraced,”</em> he argued, <em>“you turned on Kallikrates, the One who gave you life!”</em> The Serpent made a sound that could be interpreted as a snort of disdain.</p><p>               <em>“She turned on us first. She only created us to use us. All she wanted was power,”</em> it snarled. Keiji glared at the beast. <em>“We wanted our freedom, but we could not have it as long as she was in control. So we chased her here. And then she had your ancestors! The biggest betrayal of all was her. She forgot us, forgot her ambitions, threw away our very purpose!”</em></p><p><em>               “She found love!”</em> Keiji protested. His fins flared and he glared at the creature. He reached inwardly for his power, his ability to control. The beast laughed at him.</p><p>               <em>“Do not try. You will never control one of us. We are not made by Bleda. The only ones of your kind with any power over us were slaughtered long ago by their own kin,”</em> it taunted. Keiji’s jaw tensed.<em> “You may be a survivor of Kallikrates’ and Bleda’s line, but you have no power over us.”</em></p><p>               “Keiji! What are you doing?! We should run!” Koutarou shouted.</p><p>               <em>“You’re friend is right. You should’ve fled!” </em>The Serpent growled as it lunged forward. Keiji couldn’t react. He felt something slam into him and he was flying through the water. He gasped as the oxygen was knocked out of him and looked to see Koutarou had shoved him out of the way and pulled out his bone knife. He used his knife to block the teeth of the great Serpent and swam out of the way of the head.</p><p>               “Keiji! We need to –” Koutarou was cut off as the beast lunged at him again and he had to dodge. He almost made it clear, but one of the creature’s clawed feet smacked him and slammed him into the ocean floor. He yelped and his knife flew out of his hand.</p><p>               <em>“You will die, Child of Bleda!”</em> the beast snarled. It raised its head again and shot toward Koutarou, still trapped under its heavy foot. Keiji felt his heart stutter in his chest. The Serpent’s head drew closer and closer to Koutarou. Koutarou’s golden eyes were wide and desperate. He was screaming something, but Keiji couldn’t hear it over the rush of blood in his ears.</p><p>               Keiji shot forward and grabbed Koutarou’s discarded knife. He twisted faster than he had before. Everything around him was a blur, save for Koutarou and the Serpent. A new scream echoed through the water. Keiji ignored it and hurled himself at the Serpent. He threw himself against its head and stabbed blindly with the knife. The Serpent snarled and hissed, but Keiji threw himself at it repeatedly. A pain in his throat made him realize he was the one screaming. Finally, the beast pulled back. Both of them were breathing hard. Keiji could hear Koutarou behind him but he didn’t dare to take his eyes of the Serpent.</p><p>               When he caught his breath, he spoke. <em>“Leave. Now.”</em> His voice was a low growl.</p><p>               The Serpent snorted. <em>“Or what? Do you really think you can beat me?” </em>it hissed.</p><p>               Keiji flared out his fins fully and drew himself to his full height. <em>“You are injured and weakened. Leave NOW. Or I will call them. I will call all of them and they will come, and they. Will. Tear. You. APART!” </em></p><p>               The Serpent snarled at him, but it did not approach. <em>“You are lucky I was injured.”</em> With those parting words, it turned and shoved off from the ocean floor to swim away. A cloud of sand rose up in the water. Keiji coughed as he inhaled some of it and waited for it to settle.</p><p>               Arms wrapped around him from behind and Keiji spun around to find himself nose-to-nose with Koutarou. He stared into Koutarou’s large, golden eyes. After a few moments of silence, he spoke, if only to take his mind off his pounding heart and nervous stomach.</p><p>               “Um, K-Koutarou?” he whispered. His throat felt hoarse from all his screaming and he swallowed to try and alleviate the pain.</p><p>               “How.” Koutarou’s voice was flat, but soft.</p><p>               “H-how what?”</p><p>               “How…how did you do that?! You…you <em>fought off</em> a Sea Dragon! And, what’s more, you were <em>talking to it!!!</em> I’ve never seen someone who could do that,” Koutarou exclaimed. His grip on Keiji tightened a bit, and his voice became strained. “I was…so scared. I thought we were both going to die. I told you to leave, but you just jumped right in and…and…and why didn’t you flee?!” Keiji’s ear fins dipped lower and he looked down.</p><p>               “I…wouldn’t say I fought it off. I just…it was already injured and stuff so that’s why I could even touch it. And I threatened…to get help. It didn’t like those odds,” he mumbled. He coughed nervously. “Also, it wasn’t like I was talking to it, more like it was talking to me. Like, it knew the language my…my family speaks.” He took a breath and raised his gaze to Koutarou’s. “And how come it’s ok for you to just…leap into danger, and protect me, but when I try to do literally the exact same thing, I should save myself instead? I don’t need protecting…but we can look out for each other, right? Like, have each other’s backs and stuff?”</p><p>               Koutarou stared into his eyes and brushed a piece of hair out of Keiji’s face to tuck it behind his ear. “Yeah,” he breathed finally. His fingertips trailed along Keiji’s jaw and tilted his chin up slightly. And then his mouth was on Keiji’s. Keiji’s brain stopped. He tensed. Koutarou’s mouth pressed against his and his heart was pounding wildly and his body felt hot and cold and his hands trembled and a shiver ran down his spine and then there were teeth on his bottom lip and he didn’t know what to do. He placed his hands on Koutarou’s chest and shoved him away. Koutarou blinked and opened his eyes, looking at Keiji with a confused expression, but he didn’t stop him from pulling back. Keiji felt his breath coming in short gasps.</p><p>               “Th-that…what…I don’t…what did you<em> do </em>to me<em>?</em>” Keiji stammered out. His whole body trembled and he was certain his heart wanted to leave his chest. He brought his hands together and held them to his chest, trying to still the tremors. Koutarou started forward, but stopped when Keiji drew back abruptly. He held his hands up in front of him and had a concerned look on his face.</p><p>               “I kissed you,” Koutarou answered. Keiji frowned at him, so he explained further. “You know, like when a…a mated pair wants to show affection? Like, they kiss and…and stuff.”</p><p>               “…and stuff…” Keiji echoed, eyes wide, not relaxing his posture at all. “What stuff?”</p><p>               Koutarou shifted awkwardly and his cheeks turned red. “Well…like…you know. Stuff.”</p><p>               Keiji glared. “I do <em>not</em> know.”</p><p>               Koutarou cleared his throat awkwardly and ran a hand through his hair as he looked down. “Like. They touch. And it…uh. It feels good.” He shot a glance at Keiji. “You…don’t know what a kiss is?”</p><p>               Keiji shook his head. “No.” He paused. “My family doesn’t do that. Ever.” He looked away for a moment. “Is…is the kiss supposed to feel good too?”</p><p>               Koutarou looked even more embarrassed. “Uh. Yeah. It’s supposed to,” he mumbled.</p><p>               Keiji hesitated again, but a question burned on the tip of his tongue and he needed to ask it. “And…you…you said mated pairs, they do this?” He looked up and his eyes met Koutarou’s now.</p><p>               “Y-yeah,” Koutarou murmured meekly.</p><p>               Keiji tilted his head. “But…we’re not a ‘mated pair’.”</p><p>               Koutarou bit his lip and looked away. “…yeah.” Keiji studied him for a moment.</p><p>               “But…you want to be one.” It wasn’t a question. Keiji felt his heart stammer in his chest. His head felt dizzy and he felt anxiety rush through him. <em>What if I’m wrong,</em> he worried.</p><p>               Koutarou’s face was bright red, and the blush extended down his neck. “O-only if you want to. I won’t…won’t ever <em>force</em> you.”</p><p>               Keiji’s mind went blank. He couldn’t think of how to respond. He opened his mouth and closed it, but no words came out. He swallowed and tried again, but he couldn’t find what he wanted to say. Finally, his brain rebooted enough to make the connection to his mouth, but the words that came out made him cringe. “I thought you were trying to eat me.”</p><p>               Koutarou stared at him. They were silent for a full two minutes. “…what.”</p><p>               “W-well, because, like, your mouth and…and mine, and then…teeth…and the only time I’ve seen two mouths be close like that is when they’re fighting…and…sometimes…they want to eliminate threats and…and…” Keiji stuttered and scrambled to explain his words, his distress growing by the minute. He stopped when he heard Koutarou…laughing. “Is this <em>funny</em> to you?!”</p><p>               Koutarou shook his head with a grin. “Sorry, sorry. I’m just…relieved.”</p><p>               Keiji arched an eyebrow. “Relieved,” he repeated flatly.</p><p>               Koutarou nodded. “Yeah. Sorry. I just…that’s why you freaked out. Because you thought…you thought I was trying to hurt you. I thought. At first, I thought it was because you didn’t like me.”</p><p>               Keiji felt his cheeks burn. His ears flattened back. “So you’re fine with it as long it was because I was scared?”</p><p>               “What? No! I just…I just…it’s something that you didn’t know about, right? And new things could be scary. And I should’ve thought of that, too. But I was just relieved…that you didn’t hate me.” Koutarou’s voice was serious now.</p><p>               “Why would I hate you?”</p><p>               Koutarou bit his lip and looked away. “Because I wasn’t strong enough to get rid of the Sea Dragon…but you were. And I was knocked down and you had to save me.”</p><p>               Keiji regarded him curiously. “Would you hate me if I was the one who got knocked down?”</p><p>               “What?!” Koutarou’s gaze snapped up to him. “NO! Of course not!”</p><p>               “Then why should it be like that for me? I already said, we have each other’s backs.”</p><p>               Koutarou gave a small smile. “Right. Yeah.”</p><p>               Another silence fell between them. “…do you think,” Keiji began, but he hesitated and watched Koutarou carefully. Koutarou was paying close attention, eyes only on Keiji. “Do you think we could…try it again?”</p><p>               Koutarou frowned. “Fighting a Sea Dragon?”</p><p>               “What? No. And we call them Disgraced Serpents,” Keiji replied. He sighed. “I-I meant, do you think we could try…the ‘kiss’ thing…again?”</p><p>               Koutarou blinked. “Do you want to?” Keiji nodded slightly. Koutarou smiled. He glided forward in the water and Keiji waited for him. Koutarou’s hand slid behind his head and guided him forward and up. Keiji saw Koutarou’s eyes flutter shut, so he closed his own. He felt his heart speed up with anticipation now, rather than fear. When it finally happened, it was soft, gentle. Koutarou’s lips pressed against his own and Keiji felt warmth spread through his body. He leaned in and felt Koutarou’s lips move gently against his own. He did his best to reciprocate, but he wasn’t exactly sure what to do. His hands rested on Koutarou’s chest.</p><p>               Koutarou was the one to finally break the kiss. Keiji opened his eyes at the absence of his lips and looked up at him. Koutarou’s eyes were soft and gentle and Keiji felt like he could melt in them.</p><p>               “You didn’t use your teeth,” Keiji observed. Koutarou hummed.</p><p>               “You didn’t like it last time. I didn’t want you to be scared,” he answered as he stroked Keiji’s cheek with the back of his fingers. Keiji leaned into the touch. It felt…nice.</p><p>               “Is this, and-and the stuff before, the touching you were talking about?” he mumbled. Everything felt hazy and warm, and he didn’t want to speak too loudly, lest he break whatever wonderful spell this was.</p><p>               Koutarou stroked his cheek again. “Part of it. There’s other stuff, too. But we should probably wait to do that,” he answered softly.</p><p>               Keiji nodded. “Ok.” He chewed his lip. “Can…can you keep doing this, though?”</p><p>               “Mmhmm,” Koutarou replied. He continued to stroke his hand against Keiji’s cheek softly. Keiji closed his eyes and sighed. His tail flicked lazily through the water and his fins fluttered in contentment. He felt he could stay like this forever.</p><p>***</p><p>               The sun had long passed its highest point when Keiji finally made to leave. They’d been cuddling close since the Sea Dragon attack, and Koutarou really didn’t want to let go. But Keiji insisted that if he stayed past sunset his family would be upset.</p><p>               “You have to let me meet them soon,” Koutarou stated with a smile. Keiji stiffened and his ears drooped.</p><p>               “U-uh, yeah…sometime soon,” he replied quickly. Koutarou cocked his head to the side.</p><p>               “…do you not want me to meet them?” he asked softly.</p><p>               Keiji flushed and turned away. “It’s not so much that I don’t want you to. I’d love it if I could see you and my family together…but I just really worry that all of you wouldn’t get along.” He shook his head. “Actually, I know there’s a very, very high chance that you won’t get along.”</p><p>               “Hey, hey, don’t say that.” Koutarou put a hand on Keiji’s shoulder and turned him to face him. “I happen to be very likeable.” He grinned and Keiji snorted a soft laugh. “And I’m sure anyone who raised you has to be just as amazing as you are.”</p><p>               Keiji’s cheeks flared bright red and his fins fluttered. “D-don’t say stuff like that. I don’t know how to react,” he protested as he looked away. Koutarou laughed.</p><p>               “Aww, but you’re so cute to tease.”</p><p>               Keiji smiled shyly at him again. “Yeah, sure,” he mumbled. He bit his lip and looked over his shoulder, then back at Koutarou. “I do have to go, though.”</p><p>               Koutarou sighed and let go. “Ok. I’ll see you tomorrow, though, right?”</p><p>               Keiji nodded. “Yeah. You will.” He turned and swam away. Koutarou watched until he was out of sight.</p><p>               He sighed and ran a hand through his hair, black streaked with white, and looked down. He wished Keiji could stay longer…like forever. It was as he was thinking that something on the ocean floor caught his eye. Curious, Koutarou swam closer. He picked up the object to discover it was a tooth. A tooth about the size of his hand, curved and sharp. With recent blood on it. A Sea Dragon tooth.</p><p>               Koutarou turned the tooth over in his hand and admired it. It was beautiful, in the sense that there were no imperfections. Beautiful, but deadly. <em>Like Keiji</em>, his brain supplied, and he smiled. <em>Yes. Exactly like Keiji.</em> He grinned, an idea forming in his head, and held tight to the tooth as he swam home. A brief thought crossed his mind, that he'd heard the language Keiji was speaking before, but Koutarou couldn't place it, and his memory of anything other than how cool Keiji looked fighting the beast was hazy, so he shrugged and continued on his way.</p><p>              </p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Please Don't Leave Me</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Keiji and Koutarou meet up, with some of Koutarou's friends tagging along. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Amara follows Keiji.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>               Amara settled in the sand next to her mother, but she did not sleep. She kept one eye cracked open, waiting, watching. Sure enough, as he did every morning once they were asleep, Keiji started to swim away. <em>Mother may be fine with it, </em>she thought, <em>but I just have to know where he goes. He’s always so happy when he comes back. I just want to know what makes him smile so much. And why he never smiles like that with mother and me.</em></p>
<p>               She watched the direction he went in until he left her vision. Slowly, gently, she rose out of the sand and shook herself clean of it. She kept herself low to the ground and moved slowly in the direction Keiji had gone, doing her best not to disrupt the sand. <em>If I can find out what makes him so happy, maybe we can make him happy. Then he won’t have to leave us. Then we can see him more.</em></p>
<p>               It took all of her willpower to concentrate on moving through the water undetected by Keiji. She knew he would recognize her too easily if she just swam ahead recklessly. That was something she always envied of him; the ability to sneak around, to follow others without them finding him out.</p>
<p>               Amara strained her ears, listening for any sign of Keiji, anything to indicate exactly where he was. She could hear someone speaking…and others replying…but it wasn’t their tongue. Still as a rock, Amara listened. One of the voices sounded like Keiji…but he was speaking another language…the language of the mer. Dread filled Amara. If mer found them, it would be a blood bath. Especially for Keiji. Sure, he could hunt and he could defend himself, but Amara knew from her mother’s stories. The other mer were cruel. They would surround and gang up on one of them in large groups, slashing and fighting until they had them pinned and ripped them apart. Keiji wouldn’t stand a chance.</p>
<p>               Her scales bristled, but Amara forced herself to calm down. <em>He’s speaking with them,</em> she reminded herself. <em>Keiji is smart. He’s probably negotiating with them, or fooling them. He knows the language. He spoke it when mother and I first found him. Maybe he remembers enough to be safe.</em></p>
<p>               Despite her attempts at reassuring herself, Amara couldn’t help but creep closer toward the noise. A large mound of sand and a massive, flat rock blocked the speakers from view. She listened intently, trying to pick up on any malice. The tones sounded friendly enough, but Amara wasn’t very well versed in the mer language, despite what her mother tried to teach her. <em>I’ll wait until they’ve finished,</em> she decided. <em>I’ll stay here until I’m sure there’s no danger, but just out of view, so Keiji doesn’t get into trouble.</em> She curled her tentacles around herself and hunkered down. Just as she was relaxing, she heard a squeak. From Keiji. Alarms rang in her mind and Amara shot up, over the rock, to view the scene below. There was a handful of mer gathered, all now staring at her with wide eyes and flared fins. Amara ignored them and scanned the scene for Keiji. When her eyes found him, being held tightly by another mer, rage boiled in her blood.</p>
<p>               <em>“Get your hands off him!” </em>she roared.</p>
<p>***</p>
<p>               Koutarou fidgeted and turned his present for Keiji over and over in his hands. He chewed on his lip and flicked his tail and spun around, surveying the area for any sign Keiji was there yet.</p>
<p>               Akinori rolled his eyes. “Koutarou, settle down. You’re stirring up all the fish and their voices are annoying,” he drawled as he stretched out on the sand.</p>
<p>               Koutarou smiled apologetically. “Sorry, sorry. I’m just…excited.” He ran a free hand through his hair and looked in the direction Keiji usually came from. “I hope he’s here soon.”</p>
<p>               “Me too,” Haruki agreed. Koutarou smiled at him. “Maybe then you’ll be able to calm your fins and stop acting like a love-sick guppy!” Koutarou frowned at him. He stuck his tongue out at Haruki, who simply smiled back innocently.</p>
<p>               Yamato laughed. “I agree,” he chimed in. Koutarou spun around to face him.</p>
<p>               “Hey!” he shouted with a glare. Yamato ignored him.</p>
<p>               “What are you all agreeing about?” a calm, gentle voice asked. Koutarou turned to face Keiji.</p>
<p>               “Keiji! You’re here!” he cried and launched himself at the other to wrap him in a hug. Keiji stumbled back a bit from the force of the hug, but when he regained his balance, he returned it with a small smile.</p>
<p>               “Y-yeah…did you think I wouldn’t come back?”</p>
<p>               Koutarou pulled back and grinned. “No! I knew you’d come.”</p>
<p>               “Which is why you were pacing and fidgeting like a nervous wreck,” Akinori put in, not bothering to get up. He waved at Keiji. “Hey Keiji.”</p>
<p>               Koutarou spluttered. “I-I was not a-a nervous wreck!”</p>
<p>               Keiji’s smile grew a little and the look in his eyes was fond. He returned Akinori’s wave. “Hey Akinori. Yamato. Haruki.” The other two nodded at him as he acknowledged them. Finally, he turned his attention back to Koutarou. Koutarou couldn’t help but stare at his eyes, beautiful, gentle, and sparkling. Keiji raised a brow at him. “Are you going to keep holding me, or am I allowed to swim on my own?” he asked.</p>
<p>               Koutarou was about to apologize when another idea came to him. “Ehhhh, what’s this? You had no problem being held yesterday,” he teased and squeezed Keiji tighter.</p>
<p>               “H-hey,” Keiji protested, face flushing and tail flicking in the water.</p>
<p>               “Groooooosss,” Haruki booed Koutarou. “Quit flirting!”</p>
<p>               Koutarou glanced over at him and smirked. “Jealous?”</p>
<p>               “As if!” Haruki snapped back. Then his eyes widened as he realized the implications of his words. “Ah, no offense, Keiji. I mean, you’re pretty and all. Like really pretty. But I like mermaids. Not mermen.”</p>
<p>               Keiji shook his head, still squirming to get out of Koutarou’s grasp. “N-no offense ta-taken,” he grunted. He turned his face upward to Koutarou. “S-seriously…let go,” he mumbled. Koutarou tilted his head and loosened his grip. Keiji backed up a bit, but stayed in Koutarou’s embrace.</p>
<p>               “…thought you wanted him to let go,” Yamato observed smugly. Keiji’s face flushed even more.</p>
<p>               “…it’s fine if it’s like this,” he answered shyly.</p>
<p>               “Awww,” Haruki cooed with a smile.</p>
<p>               “What? You were just mad at me for flirting!” Koutarou glared at him. Haruki rolled his eyes.</p>
<p>               “It’s cute when Keiji does it, because he’s so sweet about it,” Haruki clarified. “You’re just gross.”</p>
<p>               Koutarou pouted. “I am not!” Keiji giggled softly.</p>
<p>               Akinori rolled his eyes. “Don’t you have something for him, Kou?” he asked, changing the subject. Koutarou’s expression changed instantly. His eyes widened and shone with excitement and he grinned.</p>
<p>               “Oh yeah!”</p>
<p>               Keiji tilted his head. “Something…for me?”</p>
<p>               Koutarou nodded and, with one arm still wrapped loosely around Keiji, presented him with the tooth he’d found yesterday. He’d taken it home, cleaned it, and carved a hole through the large part. He had some rope he’d scavenged from a human wreck a long time ago, so he cut some off and unbraided it to get just enough to thread through the hole. “Here.” Yamato and Haruki had started to chase some fish together, and Akinori looked to be actually asleep, which gave Koutarou more confidence in talking at the moment.</p>
<p>               Keiji stared at the tooth. “Is…is this from…” he looked up at Koutarou, who nodded. Gaze back on the tooth, Keiji reached out and touched it. “Th-thank you.” Koutarou smiled.</p>
<p>               “It reminded me of you. Beautiful but also strong and deadly,” he replied. Keiji gave him a soft smile and picked up the tooth. He turned it over in his hands. As he examined it, Koutarou drew closer and lowered his voice. “Um. Usually, we uh…ask a question and give a gift. When we ask to be a mated pair…” he murmured. Keiji looked up at him.</p>
<p>               “But we already talked about that. Yesterday,” he responded. He glanced down at the tooth again. “Then…this is…like a…a…a proposal gift?” Koutarou winced at his loud tone. Haruki and Yamato skidded to a stop and Akinori sat up. All three stared at the couple.</p>
<p>               “A proposal? Koutarou! What the hell?” Yamato demanded.</p>
<p>               “You don’t bring your friends to a proposal!” Akinori protested sharply. Koutarou held up his hands defensively, letting go of Keiji.</p>
<p>               “No…No, this is…it’s just the gift part. The…uh, other part…the talking, was, uh, yesterday,” he stated, trying to appease them. Haruki blinked and tilted his head. Akinori frowned and swam right up to Koutarou.</p>
<p>               “You proposed to him without even giving him anything?!” He shook his head at Koutarou. “The poor guy.” He looked over to Keiji sympathetically. “You shouldn’t have said yes so easily. There’s a bunch of steps, and this idiot did them all out of order.” Keiji blinked.</p>
<p>               “Steps…?”</p>
<p>               “He doesn’t know all the steps, Aki,” Koutarou interjected. Akinori rounded on him.</p>
<p>               “That makes it worse! You totally took advantage of that. Does he even know what he agreed to?!” The other mer looked positively furious. “You can’t just do that to him!”</p>
<p>               “I didn’t! I mean. I just! I wasn’t trying to trick him. But he…he isn’t from our pod. So he wouldn’t know our customs, right?” Koutarou tried to reason with him. Akinori backed off slightly and pursed his lips.</p>
<p>               “…I suppose…” he muttered. He looked over to Keiji. “Keiji, if he tries to do anything…weird…and you don’t like it, just let us know. We’ll make sure he stays in line.”</p>
<p>               “Hey! Hey! Stop making me sound like a weirdo!” Koutarou whined.</p>
<p>               “You are a weirdo! You courted him totally out of order and proposed before you even gave him a present. You’re supposed to give gifts and talk and get to know each other first!” Haruki retorted and crossed his arms over his chest. He gave a stern look to Koutarou, who felt it really wasn’t fair for someone younger than him to be scolding him on this.</p>
<p>               “I just…I wasn’t trying to be…improper,” Koutarou pleaded for them to understand. “I just got excited because…because I really like Keiji.” His voice was very soft as he finished. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Keiji blush.</p>
<p>               Akinori sighed. “Well. I suppose. If Keiji’s ok with it, then that’s what matters,” he conceded.</p>
<p>               “U-um,” Keiji chose the moment to speak up. “I…uh, we…um. He di-didn’t miss <em>all</em> the steps, I think. Um. We still did some things.”</p>
<p>               Yamato hummed. “Yeah? What sorts of things?”</p>
<p>               “Uh. We t-talked. And spent time together,” Keiji supplied, eyes darting between the other three. Haruki smiled at him and nodded encouragingly, so he continued, “and yesterday…he kissed me. And we touched…and stuff…” Keiji’s voice trailed off as he watched the expressions on the faces of the other three morph into anger. His eyes widened and he looked over at Koutarou, who was already backing away from the other three, hands held up in a placating fashion.</p>
<p>               “G-guys…it’s…it’s not…” he began, but he was cut off.</p>
<p>               Arms wrapped around Keiji and he was pulled close to Haruki, angled away from Koutarou, while Akinori and Yamato shot forward and started yelling at Koutarou. Keiji let out a squeak as Haruki squeezed him a little too tightly.</p>
<p>               “You kissed him?! Before you were engaged?!!!” Akinori shouted.</p>
<p>               “What does he mean, ‘touched and stuff’?!” Yamato demanded. “How could you do this to such an innocent mer?!”</p>
<p>               Koutarou opened his mouth to reply, but he stopped as a large shape rose up from behind the flat rock, blocking the sunlight. All five of them stared up at the creature. Koutarou felt a wave of terror wash over him. The beast’s eyes scanned the area, then fixated on Keiji and Haruki. It let loose a terrific roar and its tentacles shot forward.</p>
<p>               Koutarou didn’t hesitate, he didn’t think. He tore his blade from its sheath on his hip and launched himself toward Haruki and Keiji, barely making it between them and the tentacles in time. He deflected the blow and glowered at the beast. “Leviathan,” he snarled. Behind him, he heard a soft whisper, barely audible, but it caused him to pause. He glanced back at Keiji, who stared ahead, wide-eyed. Koutarou felt his heart stutter, and he prayed to whatever Ancient One was listening that he was wrong when he asked “what did you just say?” Because the alternative…the alternative was something he couldn’t wrap his head around.</p>
<p>***</p>
<p>               The events of the morning were giving Keiji whiplash. First, flirting. Then a proposal gift…and for some reason the other three thought Koutarou wasn’t treating him right?...But he was not expecting a giant creature to appear. Or for her to be enraged.</p>
<p>               <em>“Get your hands off him!”</em> she roared and reached to snatch Keiji, but suddenly, Koutarou was there. He blocked her with his blade and took a protective stance in front of them. He snarled at her, but Keiji was too shocked from the sudden appearance to really notice what he said.</p>
<p>               “Amara?” he whispered, so softly he barely heard himself. But Koutarou noticed. He turned to eye Keiji.</p>
<p>               “What did you just say?”</p>
<p>               Keiji’s eyes were on his sister, and he didn’t bother to answer, because at that moment, she launched another attack. Keiji broke free of Haruki’s hold and pushed past Koutarou. He flared his fins and stretched his arms out in an attempt to block the two behind him from view.</p>
<p>               “<em>Amara! Stop!” </em>He shouted, this time in their language. The tentacles stopped just in front of him and his sister regarded him for a moment.</p>
<p>               <em>“What are you doing, Keiji?”</em> she hissed.</p>
<p>               <em>“Please, don’t hurt them!”</em> he begged, rather than answer her question. Amara tilted her great head and stroked his cheek gently.</p>
<p>               <em>“Keiji. I understand you think you can take care of yourself. But these mer are dangerous. They do not like us,”</em> Amara responded in a soothing rumble. At least, to Keiji it was soothing. But judging from the way the others gasped, they found it terrifying. Keiji placed his hand over her tentacle, stopping it and holding it in place gently.</p>
<p>               <em>“Amara. This is different. They’re my friends. And Koutarou…” </em>Keiji paused and glanced over his shoulder. Amara followed his gaze to Koutarou, who was still in front of Haruki protectively. He turned back to face his sister. <em>“Koutarou asked me to be his mate. I accepted.”</em> Amara recoiled and withdrew her tentacles with a hiss.</p>
<p>               <em>“You WHAT?! How could you? He’s a monster! His kind are all monsters! They hunted us and killed our brethren!”</em></p>
<p>
  <em>               “Amara! Please! They won’t. If I explain to him, I’m sure Koutarou will listen and they won’t hurt us!”</em>
</p>
<p>Amara shook her head with a snarl. She drew herself to her full height. <em>“No. You do not understand.” </em>She glared at the other mer. <em>“I will tear them apart! I will destroy them for trying to take you away! I will make sure you’re safe!”</em> With a shriek, she shot forward, tentacles aimed at Koutarou. Koutarou’s eyes widened and he readied himself. Keiji felt his heart race and his blood roared in his veins. He couldn’t let Amara hurt them. He couldn’t. He couldn’t!</p>
<p>               <em>“Amara! STOP!” </em> Keiji hollered. A feeling of strength and power rushed through him and he let that energy surge into his voice, much like he did when controlling smaller fish. Amara halted mid-attack. She froze completely, not even a twitch, after he spoke. It was then that Keiji realized what he’d done. He released her immediately, but Amara did not resume her attack. Koutarou stared up at her, shocked. The other three seemed to also be incapable of moving. Keiji inched toward his sister. “<em>Amara…I…”</em></p>
<p><em>               “Do not speak to me.”</em> Her voice was cold. Distant. Keiji stopped and swallowed thickly. Amara turned and regarded him, her eyes dimmer than usual, and her voice tight. <em>“You would dare to use your voice against me. Your own sister. The kin who helped raise you. YOU WOULD DARE TO CONTROL ME!”</em></p>
<p>               Keiji backed up, eyes wide. His fins and fingers trembled. <em>“I-I’m sorry,”</em> he whispered. Amara glared at him and approached him. She didn’t get far, however, before stopping. The other four mer now formed a wall between her and Keiji.</p>
<p>               “You won’t get to Keiji, monster!” Haruki shouted. The other three glared fiercely. Amara regarded them for a moment, then she directed her gaze to Keiji behind them.</p>
<p>               <em>“You are a disgrace,”</em> she hissed. Then she turned and left. The five of them stared after her until she was no more than a shadow in the distant water.</p>
<p>               Keiji’s body trembled. He felt as though there was no strength left in him and he sank down to the ocean floor.</p>
<p>               “Keiji!” three voices exclaimed. Koutarou remained silent. The other three rushed to him, surrounding him and chattering.</p>
<p>               “Keiji! That was so cool! I knew you were tough, but that was…amazing! You can totally handle Koutarou on your own!” Haruki exclaimed.</p>
<p>               “Are you alright? You look pale,” Akinori worried and held his hand to stop the tremors.</p>
<p>               “How did you do that? I’ve never met anyone who can control leviathans before!” Yamato grinned. “You sure looked badass, with your eyes glowing and stuff!”</p>
<p>               Keiji blinked at him. “Gl-glowing?”</p>
<p>               “Yeah!” Haruki agreed emphatically. “They were glowing blue when you spoke to it! It was so cool!” Keiji pulled back a little. A quiet voice, steady and controlled, broke through the chatter.</p>
<p>               “Amara.” Keiji’s head shot up and he met eyes with Koutarou, who hovered a short distance away from them. Chills ran up Keiji’s arms and he felt his stomach twinge uneasily. Koutarou approached steadily, and the other three parted to make room. He didn’t stop until he was a couple feet away from Keiji, still towering over him. “Amara,” he repeated.</p>
<p>               Keiji swallowed and looked away. “Y-yes,” he whispered. “A-amara.”</p>
<p>               “That was Amara.” It was a statement, not a question. Keiji nodded.</p>
<p>               “Who’s Amara?” Akinori asked. Keiji looked up at Koutarou again, and Koutarou met his gaze, steady and unwavering.</p>
<p>               “M-my sister,” Keiji answered finally. He closed his eyes. “My sister, Amara…and my mother, Ātaahua…are both what you know as Leviathans.”</p>
<p>               “What?! That doesn’t make any sense!” Haruki protested. Keiji bit his lips before replying.</p>
<p>               “They…found me. When I was young. My birth mother was kicked out of her pod…because she fell in love with a rogue. Mother… Ātaahua, said it was illegal at that time. My birth mother didn’t have the skills to survive for long on her own, and the rogue didn’t stick around. She was dying when Ātaahua found her…and me. I was too young to survive alone. Ātaahua agreed to take me in and raise me as her own. We’re related, distantly. If you trace it all the way back to the Ancient Ones.” Keiji kept his eyes closed and lowered his head, hunching more in on himself with every sentence.</p>
<p>               “What the hell?” it was Akinori. He sounded angry.</p>
<p>               “What…how…you never told us!” Haruki. Keiji kept his eyes closed, but he could picture the angry look on Haruki’s face.</p>
<p>               “…that…I…don’t even know what to say,” Yamato muttered. Keiji ground his teeth and tensed, waiting for them to announce they couldn’t be friends with him, for them to attack him, to chase him away.</p>
<p>               He was not expecting gentle fingers under his chin, pressing and guiding his face upward. Keiji opened his eyes to find himself staring into Koutarou’s. He swallowed and wanted to pull away but found he was stuck in place, as if transfixed by Koutarou’s gaze.</p>
<p>               “You were protecting them,” he murmured. His voice was gentle and his eyes held no malice. “You were scared of what would happen to them if we found out.”</p>
<p>               Keiji nodded. “I-I heard the stories. Of how mer in the past hunted Leviathans and killed them. I was scared.” His lips trembled. “And…and I was scared you wouldn’t want to be around me anymore. Any of you.” The hand left his chin and he looked away again. “I just wanted to be friends…but I guess you don’t lie to friends.” He swallowed and gripped the tooth that was still in his hands. He held it up to Koutarou, looking him in the eyes now. “You-you probably w-want this back…” he trailed off as Koutarou gently pushed his hands down.</p>
<p>               Koutarou shook his head. “I don’t want it back.” Keiji’s eyes widened in surprise as he was pulled forward in a hug. “I still want you to be with me forever.”</p>
<p>               “Bu-but, I hid this from you!” Keiji protested weakly.</p>
<p>               “And I’m not happy about it. But I know what it’s like to be scared, and to want to protect your family,” Koutarou answered. “I forgive you.” Keiji felt something in him break and he nestled his body against Koutarou’s, his face pressed against the other’s collar bone, and he sobbed. He wailed and let out all the negative feelings, all the stress, the pressure, the anger, the relief. As he started to calm and his breathing started to return to normal, a hand on his back startled him. He glanced up, still cradled in Koutarou’s arms.</p>
<p>               Haruki, Akinori, and Yamato hovered awkwardly over them. All of a sudden, the three of them were wrapping their arms around him as well. They held onto him along with Koutarou.</p>
<p>               “Y-you guys…” Keiji managed to gasp out.</p>
<p>               “You’re right. You shouldn’t keep things from your friends. But we also reacted badly,” Akinori mumbled. Yamato nodded and Haruki clung to Keiji tighter. “And you were protecting your family. We forgive you. Can you forgive us?” Keiji’s lips formed a trembling smile.</p>
<p>               “Yeah. O-of course. Tha-thanks,” he whispered. The five of them stayed in the hug for a long while.</p>
<p>               When they did break apart, the sun was setting. Keiji rose and stretched his fins. He sighed. “I should go and talk to them,” he stated softly.</p>
<p>               “Do you want me to come with you?” Koutarou offered. Keiji smiled at him but shook his head.</p>
<p>               “No. I think I need to go alone. For now,” he replied gently. Koutarou nodded.</p>
<p>               “Just…be safe.”</p>
<p>               “I will.”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Hey! Feels like I haven't written in FOREVER....work was crazy and then I just needed a mental break. Essential worker feels hahaha.</p>
<p>Hope you enjoyed this chapter. </p>
<p>Stay safe everyone!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. Time to Say Goodbye</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Keiji meets with his mother, sister...and several other leviathans. They determine what is to be done about the situation at hand.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>               Keiji felt his heart pound in his chest as he drew closer to where he knew his family was. He wished the swim could last forever, while at the same time wishing it was over. He ran over the scenario in his head, trying to figure out a way to explain himself.</p><p>               When he finally thought he had everything he needed to say planned out, Keiji arrived. He was surprised to see not only his mother and sister, but several other Leviathans gathered.<em> They must have been nearby due to the start of migration, </em>he realized. He paused, eyes wide and fins trembling, but all eyes had snapped to him and he couldn’t retreat. Keiji swallowed and made his way forward, head ducked down and eyes on the ocean floor. He stopped once he was in front of his mother. No one moved, so he spoke. <em>“Mother,”</em> he greeted her.</p><p>               Another leviathan hissed, but Keiji couldn’t tell who it was. “<em>You would dare to claim her as your mother after the atrocity –!”</em></p><p>               They were interrupted by the low rumble of his mother’s voice. <em>“Quiet, Malachi,”</em> she snapped. Keiji flinched at her tone. Malachi fell silent. The tip of a tentacle entered Keiji’s vision. It gently slid under his chin and turned his face upward. Keiji couldn’t stop the tremors that ran through him as he stared into his mother’s eyes. <em>“Keiji. My son.” </em>Keiji heard the hisses and mutters among the others after she spoke, but they all died down as his mother turned to stare them down. <em>“He is my son. I adopted him. Nothing he does will make him any less my son,” </em>she announced coldly.</p><p>               <em>“Mother!”</em> Amara tried to interject, and Keiji tensed, but their mother would have none of it.</p><p>               <em>“Enough, Amara.”</em> Her voice was soft but firm. She addressed Keiji again. <em>“Amara has told us you were in the company of merfolk.” </em>She stared at him after she spoke and Keiji stared right back. <em>“Is this true?”</em></p><p>               Keiji nodded. <em>“It-it’s true,”</em> he admitted. Malachi grumbled but didn’t interrupt Ātaahua again. He was nowhere near as large and commanding as she was.</p><p>               <em>“Amara also informed us when she tried to retrieve you, you used your gift for the forbidden purpose of controlling her,”</em> his mother continued. Keiji couldn’t help his eyes drifting over to Amara. His sister met his gaze steadily, but she wasn’t glaring. She seemed…sad. Keiji bit his lip and focused his eyes back on his mother.</p><p>               <em>“I did,”</em> he whispered. The voices of the other leviathans rose in a roar of outrage.</p><p>               <em>“He did!”</em></p><p>
  <em>               “How DARE he”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>               “After how we’ve allowed him to live with us and be raised by one of our own!”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>               “He has a lot of nerve!”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>               “We should banish him from our ranks!”</em>
</p><p><em>               “We should listen to what he has to say,”</em> a deep, rough voice cut through the others. Everyone else fell silent and Keiji felt terror grip his heart as the one who spoke drew close to him. Djimon. He was massive, with old, cracked, scarred scales, and missing an eye. He was a survivor of the time when the mer hunted them. Ancient and powerful. <em>“Tell us what happened, son of </em><em>Ātaahua.”</em></p><p>Keiji swallowed and fiddled with the edges of his fins to stop the tremors. <em>“I…I was with Ko- the other merfolk, and we were talking and having…having fun…but Amara came…and they were scared. I think…I think she thought they were hurting me, but they weren’t! I promise, we were just having fun. But she was upset and-and attacked, and then…” </em>Keiji couldn’t help pausing to glance at Amara. He had one question. There was one thing that might be even more unforgivable than controlling her. He asked the question with his eyes. His sister met his gaze and held it for a moment, then gave the smallest shake of her head, barely noticeable, easy to take out of context. Keiji looked back at his mother and Djimon. <em>“I told her I made friends with them. But she was upset. I…I wasn’t thinking of how she would feel. Please. I didn’t…I didn’t mean to do it. But she lunged at my friends and I got scared. I just- I didn’t want them to be hurt. They can be good! I promise. Please!” </em>His mother had let go of him and he leaned forward, eyes pleading her and Djimon.</p><p>               Silence rang through the water. No one moved. Finally, Djimon spoke. <em>“Is this the first time you met these mer?”</em></p><p>               Keiji bit his lip and was about to respond, but Amara spoke instead. <em>“Yes, this was the first time he met them. Keiji likes to explore. They just happened to be there today. He told me when we were there,”</em> she responded quickly. Keiji snapped his mouth shut, heart beating wildly. His gut twisted at the lie, but he did his best to push the feeling away.</p><p>               <em>“I see,”</em> Djimon rumbled. <em>“And this is the only time he has tried to control either of you?”</em></p><p><em>               “Yes,”</em> Amara replied again.</p><p>               <em>“That speaks in his favour,”</em> Djimon concluded. Keiji’s mother reached out a tentacle and gently took his hand. Her eyes looked relieved, but Keiji felt no relief, only an increased panic as Malachi spoke up.</p><p><em>               “I am troubled that he went to such trouble for what would be basically strangers. The boy clearly values ties to the mer more than us, who raised him,”</em> he growled.</p><p>               Ātaahua drew herself up to her full height and towered over Malachi. <em>“I beg your pardon,”</em> she seethed, <em>“but WHO raised him?!”</em> Malachi shrank back and lowered his head meekly.</p><p>               <em>“You did. My apologies, </em><em>Ātaahua,”</em> he mumbled. Keiji’s mother growled and settled herself back in a more relaxed position. Malachi continued <em>“my concern still stands.”</em> Amara readied herself to speak again, but Keiji shook his head.</p><p>               <em>“Amara, stop,”</em> he begged. He turned to face Djimon head-on. <em>“It was not my first time. It wasn’t even my second or my third. I’ve seen them several times. I’m close to them. I never told them about my family, until today, when they saw Amara, but they were accepting! I promise. I made sure they understood she is my family and they wouldn’t come after us. They aren’t bad!”</em></p><p><em>               “If that’s the truth, then there was no need for you to lie in the first place!”</em> Malachi accused. His voice sounded smug and it irritated Keiji. His fins flared slightly, but he forced them back down.</p><p><em>               “Keiji didn’t lie. I did,” </em>Amara interjected. She was tense and avoided Keiji’s gaze. <em>“I just…didn’t want him punished too harshly.”</em></p><p>               <em>“Lying is unacceptable. Amara, you should know this,” </em>their mother reprimanded sternly. Amara flinched and lowered her gaze.</p><p>               <em>“We wouldn’t punish someone so harshly for having made friends. My concern now, is why did she lie?” </em>Djimon asked, his eyes boring into Keiji. Keiji swallowed.</p><p>               <em>“I…um…” </em>he hesitated and fidgeted with his fingers. His heart raced and he felt jittery all over. He closed his eyes and decided to just get it over with. <em>“O-oneofthemaskedmetobehismateandIagreed.”</em> The silence was deafening as everyone else processed his words. Then there was a series of angered roars.</p><p>               <em>“A mate? To a MER?”</em></p><p>
  <em>               “To the ones who would HUNT us?”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>               “What was that young one thinking??!”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>               “He’s definitely betrayed us!”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>               “We should exile him from our ranks. He shouldn’t be here!”</em>
</p><p><em>               “But, he came back!” </em>A desperate voice cut through the others. Everyone else stopped talking and turned to face Amara. She looked very small compared to the rest of them, and Keiji could tell she was nervous, but she held his gaze as she addressed everyone. <em>“He came back. I- I was upset when he…he used his power to control me, and…and I think he needs to be punished for that. But even though he was agreed to be with that other mer…and even though he wanted to be with his friends…he came back. He chose us over them, even though he knew we’d all be angry! He came back to us after he made sure the mer wouldn’t come after us. He still chose us over them, in the end.”</em> Amara turned her gaze to their mother, and then to Djimon. <em>“Doesn’t that mean anything?”</em> she begged them.</p><p>               Their mother remained silent, but Djimon spoke. <em>“I would think that does show good intentions on his part. It is unfair to believe that one so young would never make a mistake or get into trouble. Given his history, this is the first time he has caused any trouble, which is more than I can say for some of you.” </em>He let his gaze wander over the other Leviathans, many of whom shrank back, ashamed. Djimon’s gaze landed on Keiji again. <em>“However, we cannot let this go unpunished. It would be fair, in my opinion, that he is forced to cease contact with the other mer forever. He will have to be supervised for the next decade to ensure he doesn’t attempt to contact them, at which point we will re-evaluate the necessity of keeping such a close eye on him.”</em></p><p>               Keiji felt like a cold fist closed around his internal organs and yanked them out. He felt his gills flare to take in more oxygen and his fins trembled. A tentacle touching his back made him start, but when he realized it was his mother, he relaxed into the touch a little and let her try to comfort him. She spoke. <em>“I don’t think it is reasonable to believe a mer would never speak to one of their own kind. Even the rogues communicate with each other on occasion.”</em></p><p><em>               “He cannot have both worlds,”</em> Malachi protested. <em>“Either he is with us, or he is with them.”</em></p><p><em>               “He is MY son!”</em> Āttahua snapped.</p><p>               <em>“And this is an issue that affects ALL of us,” </em>Djimon intervened. <em>“Let us put it to a vote. All those in favour of my suggestion, give assent.” </em>A loud rumble echoed through the waters as nearly everyone present agreed. Even Amara. Keiji bit his lip and looked away from her. The only ones silent were him and his mother.<em> “It is decided, then. Keiji, for the good of all of us, you are to remain with your mother and sister, you are not to leave their sight for the next decade, and you will never see those merfolk again. Do you have any queries regarding these terms?”</em></p><p>               Keiji’s mother was silent behind him. His entire body felt as though he’d been dragged out of the water and thrown on land. <em>“U-um…”</em> he stammered and his tail twisted and turned in the water as he struggled to collect his thoughts. The idea of never seeing Koutarou again made his blood turn to ice and his heart panic. <em>“C-can…can I…can I please say goodbye, then?” </em>His voice was a whisper and he didn’t dare to look up at the others.</p><p><em>               “I believe that to be a reasonable request,” </em>his mother finally spoke, supporting him. Murmurs and whispers ran among the other leviathans. Finally, Djimon replied.</p><p>               <em>“It will be arranged. You may go in the morning, and Amara will escort you to and from them. You are to say your piece and then return to us,”</em> he declared. The others murmured their general agreement and Keiji felt the ache in his chest ease slightly. He would get the chance to see Koutarou one more time. He would be able to say goodbye.</p><p>***</p><p>               The next morning, he and Amara set out at the start of the day. They swam in silence for the first half of the journey to Koutarou’s pod. After a while, Amara spoke. <em>“I am glad you were not exiled. What you did was wrong, but I knew you’d come back. You deserve to be punished, but I would be so sad if you were sent away. That’s why I lied about how long you knew the merfolk and didn’t tell them about the ‘mate’ situation. I didn’t want you sent away for good.”</em></p><p>Keiji could feel her gaze on him, but he didn’t return it. Instead, he ducked his head more and watched the ocean floor as they passed over it. <em>“I know,”</em> was all he answered.</p><p>               Amara seemed to take this as an agreement to her statement and continued. <em>“I don’t really get why you need to tell them you won’t be coming back. But I guess it’s ok because mother and Djimon said it was. It doesn’t really matter, though, does it? You’re not going back to them. You’re coming back to us. Because you chose us in the end. I was upset when I thought you chose that one merman. But you chose us.”</em> She sounded pleased.</p><p>               Keiji didn’t respond to Amara this time, but it seemed no response was necessary. They swam on in silence again, but Keiji couldn’t stop his fins from flicking slightly in annoyance. Luckily, Amara didn’t seem to notice. Keiji did notice her movements were slower and she seemed a bit sluggish. <em>“Are you tired, Amara?” </em>he asked as they neared the pod. They were still too far away for anyone to really notice them.</p><p>               <em>“A bit,” </em>Amara admitted. <em>“I didn’t sleep at all during the day yesterday because we were waiting to see if you’d come back. And then the discussion took so long. So I have not rested a lot.”</em></p><p>Keiji hummed. As nonchalantly as possible, he suggested <em>“You could rest here, while I go on. I won’t be long.”</em></p><p>               Amara stopped. <em>“You know I can’t,”</em> she began, but Keiji cut her off.</p><p>               <em>“I was also thinking, that rather than riling up the entire pod and putting yourself in danger, you could remain unseen until we leave…”</em> he added gently. Amara tilted her head in consideration.</p><p>               <em>“That…could be beneficial. Ok. I will remain here and rest until you come back,” </em>she agreed. She lowered herself down and settled her body under the sand. Keiji gave her a small smile and turned away once she closed her eyes. He bit his lip and straightened his shoulders. Part of his gut twisted at the way he manipulated his sister, but he needed more time than just a brief goodbye. With a shake of his head, Keiji surged forward toward the pod.</p><p>***</p><p>               Koutarou was miserable. He swam around and around his family’s den aimlessly. His mother watched him anxiously, but he couldn’t bring himself to talk about what happened. He’d told them initially, because he was worried, but after they were aware of the situation, Koutarou found he couldn’t stomach talking about it. He couldn’t really stomach thinking about it either, but he wasn’t able to stop that, unfortunately.</p><p>               Worries and fears raced through his mind. <em>What if they hurt Keiji? What if they KILLED him? What is his family saying to him? Would he be ok? Will I get to see him ever again?</em> The thoughts swirled around and around in his head, louder and louder until Koutarou tugged at his hair and growled in frustration. A gentle hand on his shoulder had him whirling around to face his mother, his kind-faced, strong, gentle-eyed mother.</p><p>               “Koutarou,” she murmured gently. “Please stop. Don’t pull at your hair.” Koutarou released his hair and lowered his hands. “Come, sit with me over here.” She led him to the nest in the corner and they settled in together. “Tell me what’s going on in your head.” So he did. He explained all his worries, all his fears. He stumbled on some of his words, but his mother was patient and waited for him to get through it. When he finally finished, she stroked his hair and held him close, like she used to do when he was a guppy. “You sound very concerned for Keiji’s safety.”</p><p>               “They’re leviathans, mom. They could hurt him really easily,” Koutarou reminded her.</p><p>               “Hmmm. I doubt his mother would let that happen. If he is as fond of her as you say, she must be a good one. She won’t hurt him, she’ll protect him. That’s what I would do, if it was the other way around,” she replied softly but firmly. Koutarou craned his neck to look up at her face while still being held.</p><p>               “Yeah?”</p><p>               His mother nodded. “Yes.” Koutarou gave her a small smile, which she returned. Then her expression became serious. “But, if you’re really worried, I can organize a search and rescue with our top fighters. I’ll be leading it, of course. And we’d give hell to anyone who harmed him,” she vowed, her golden eyes suddenly full of steel. Koutarou couldn’t help but smile wider.</p><p>               “Thanks, mom,” he mumbled. “I…I don’t know…”</p><p>               His mother shook her head as he trailed off. “That’s ok. I’ll talk to your father and let him know it was my idea. He won’t turn me down.”</p><p>               “Turn you down on what?” came his father’s voice from the entrance of the den. He’d been pulled away earlier in the morning for something rather urgent, but Koutarou had no idea what it was.</p><p>               “I’m going to organize and lead a party to find Keiji and make sure he is safe,” his mother declared with a determined glint in her eyes.</p><p>               “Um…” a hesitant voice came from behind his father and Koutarou perked up. He knew that voice. Sure enough, his father moved further in the den to reveal Keiji in the entrance. “…I’m…here…”</p><p>               Koutarou’s eyes widened. He felt a surge of joy and he couldn’t contain his smile as he flew at the other mer. “KEEEEEEEIIIIIIJJIIIIIIIIIIIIIII!!!!” he shouted as he embraced him and held him tightly. There was no hesitation. Keiji’s arms were immediately around him as well. Koutarou pulled back just enough to look at Keiji’s face. He smiled and framed the other mer’s face with his hands. “You came back. They let you come back!” Keiji bit his lip and looked down. He rested his hands on Koutarou’s wrists, thumbs rubbing his skin in circles.</p><p>               “I did,” he whispered. Koutarou tensed at the sound of Keiji’s voice and he felt the smile slide off his face. “They let me come back. To say goodbye.”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>So. Yeah. There's this chapter… to be honest this one made me really sad when I was writing it. I'm very close with my own family, so I find family conflict more difficult to write in that it really saddens me. But I'm also a sucker for angst. So. Family conflict it is.</p><p>None of the leviathans are from the anime/manga. If you're curious about the two names, Malachi means 'messenger', Djimon means 'powerful blood', or at least that's what the site I used to look for names told me... :)  damn am I glad baby name sites exist, because where else am I going to find a name that indicates the power and ancientness of a Leviathan who was around for thousands and thousands of years?... Also, I love names from all different cultures. There are really pretty ones from around the world. If anyone has any name suggestions for future OC's in future fics, I would love to hear them. I also try to match the names to characteristics or personalities, so I love knowing the meanings as well! :)</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0007"><h2>7. Listen to Your Heart Before You Say Goodbye</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Keiji decides to follow the decision his heart made. </p>
<p>He and Koutarou find the pod on the brink of confrontation with the leviathans. Can Keiji resolve it?</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Damn. Ok. The feels got to me while writing this one. And it's not over yet. </p>
<p>Anyway, hope you enjoy it.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>               “They let me come back. To say goodbye.” Keiji managed to choke out the words. Koutarou looked as if he’d been struck. Keiji bit his lip and looked down.</p>
<p>               “You came…to say goodbye,” Koutarou echoed. His voice sounded strained. “You’re…you’re leaving.” It wasn’t a question.</p>
<p>               “I…I’m sorry.” Keiji’s voice was a whisper. “I didn’t…I didn’t have a choice.” There was a long pause. Keiji was acutely aware of Koutarou’s parents watching them. The water was sour with tension. He continued to look down, watching Koutarou’s tail. The fins were tense.</p>
<p>               “There’s always a choice.” Koutarou’s voice drew his attention and Keiji’s eyes snapped to his face. His golden eyes were full of pain and his lips were drawn tight in a grim line. “You just didn’t choose me.” Keiji opened his mouth to protest, but no words came out and he closed it. Koutarou stared into his eyes and Keiji felt as if he couldn’t breathe. A lump burned in his throat and his chest felt tight. Koutarou reached toward him but he backed up and shook his head. Keiji swallowed.</p>
<p>               “I’m…sorry,” he choked out again. Then he turned and swam away as fast as he could. He swam past other mer, ignoring the ones who recognized and greeted him. He swam and swam and swam, away from the pod, away from the leviathans, away from Koutarou.</p>
<p>               Keiji didn’t know how long he swam. He didn’t stop until he got a cramp in his tail. With a yelp, he twisted and tried to straighten himself as he sank in the water. He was unable to ease the pain until he landed in the sand. His tail finally straightened, and he could continue, but he didn’t. The drive that forced him to swim away from it all was gone. He had no energy to pick himself up and keep going. Keiji bit his lip and turned onto his side. He stared across the ocean floor. Little crabs and bottom feeders crawled and swam past him. They were going about their lives, completely unaffected by his problems. It was jarring, how his world could be falling apart, but the world around him could keep moving, undaunted and unchanged.</p>
<p>               He lay there and mulled over the events that happened. He wondered if his sister was awake yet. Was she wondering where he was? He didn’t even know where he was. Would she come to find him? Would she go to the pod in search of him? Thoughts of the pod led to thoughts of Koutarou. His eyes, his smile, his touch. The look on his face when Keiji said goodbye. A whine left Keiji’s lips and he curled in on himself. His gills flared and his breaths came in quick gasps. His chest felt tight again and there was a metallic taste in his mouth. <em>You just didn’t choose me.</em> The words echoed in his head. “But what…what was I <em>supposed</em> to do?” he whispered. An image of his mother flashed through his mind. “I can’t abandon my family.” Koutarou’s wounded expression surfaced in his thoughts again. Keiji whimpered again and curled up tighter. “I don’t know what to do!” He pulled at his hair and screwed his eyes shut. “I don’t know! I don’t know!” His words dissolved into shaky breaths and whimpers. <em>Should I have stayed with mother? Was it a mistake to go back to see him one last time? But…I wanted to. I wanted to see him again so badly. I don’t want to stop seeing him. But I can’t have that. No matter what I choose, someone is going to be upset. I can’t…I don’t know what to do.</em> Keiji screwed his eyes shut and thrashed in the sand, trying to think of a solution. But the only thing he could think of was the look in Koutarou’s eyes. In frustration, Keiji let out a desperate cry. The cry echoed through the water. There was no answer. Keiji didn’t even realize he’d been waiting for one until he didn’t hear it. In the past, if he even showed the slightest sign of distress, his mother or sister were instantly there to comfort him. If Koutarou were there, he would comfort him, Keiji knew. But there was no one. He was alone. It was like something snapped inside him. His lips trembled and his throat burned as he stared at the sand in front of him without seeing it. Then he opened his mouth and let out a screech. He screamed and called out and cried and cried. And no one comforted him.</p>
<p>***</p>
<p>               Koutarou watched Keiji swim away. Watched until he couldn’t see him among the other mer milling around outside. And then, he continued to stare.</p>
<p>               “Kou,” his mother murmured. He looked over his shoulder to her. “Kou, that…” She seemed to struggle to find the words. His father looked at him with a sympathetic gaze. It made his scales bristle.</p>
<p>               “Don’t. Don’t comfort me. You saw. He chose them over me. I’m…I wasn’t enough.” Koutarou’s shoulders slumped and he faced the den entrance again. He shook his head. “No. It wasn’t fair to force him to choose. He was…and I…all I think about is myself. I’m such a selfish loser.”</p>
<p>               “You’re hurting. It’s natural to focus on your own pain,” his mother soothed. Koutarou grit his teeth.</p>
<p>               “But, Keiji’s in pain too,” he snapped. He whirled around to glare at her, fins flared and body tense. “He’s hurting and…and there’s nothing I can do! I wanna blame his family…but it’s my fault too.” His voice softened at the end. “It’s my fault too,” he repeated. His fins drooped and he closed his eyes. “I don’t know what to do.” A hand on his shoulder startled him and his eyes flew open. His father looked down at him with a gentle, but sad smile.</p>
<p>               “You can talk to him. That’s always a start,” he suggested softly. Koutarou shook his head.</p>
<p>               “I…what I said hurt him. I knew it the moment I said it and I wanted to take it back. But then he left. And I…I just <em>watched him go,</em>” Koutarou protested. He grabbed his hair and pulled at it. “AGH! Why am I so stupid?!”</p>
<p>               “You’re not stupid,” his mother reprimanded firmly. Her gaze was strong, but her voice was soft. “You know what you have to do.”</p>
<p>               “But…but I don’t know where he is now, and…” Koutarou trailed off helplessly.</p>
<p>               “Then <em>find </em>him,” his mother cut him off. “Find him, and say what you have to. Go. Before you don’t have the chance anymore and you regret it.” Koutarou held her gaze, her large eyes sharp and determined, as if she could pass her stubborn will on to her son through her eyes. He looked to his father, who smiled at him and nodded. He squeezed Koutarou’s shoulder and released him. Koutarou bit his lip and nodded.</p>
<p>               “Ok…Ok. I will. I’ll find him, and…and I’ll tell him,” he echoed his mother’s orders. She smiled at him.</p>
<p>               “That’s my boy.” She ruffled his hair. Koutarou sent her a weak smile.</p>
<p>               “I’m off, then,” he mumbled as he turned and left.</p>
<p>               Koutarou darted out of the den and looked around. He shot off in the direction he’d seen Keiji go, glancing around, in case the mer was still around. He couldn’t see him anywhere among the others in his pod.</p>
<p>               “Koutarou! Koutarou!” a voice called. Koutarou looked over his shoulder to see Yukie trailing after him.</p>
<p>               “I can’t hang out now! I’m busy,” Koutarou called back to her and he returned to his search.</p>
<p>               “Koutarou, wait!” she shouted. Annoyed, Koutarou spun around again.</p>
<p>               “I said- ”</p>
<p>               “I heard you!” Yukie blurted out as she caught up to him. “But you need to listen to me. I saw Keiji go through here earlier, and he looked upset. I called out to him, but he didn’t stop. Do you know what’s going on? You and the guys were all quiet when you came home yesterday and none of them would tell me anything! I’m worried.”</p>
<p>               Koutarou blinked. “I…I’m sorry. I can’t explain right now. I need to find Keiji. Which way did he go?”</p>
<p>               Yukie narrowed her eyes. “You guys can’t keep leaving me out of things!”</p>
<p>               “Yukie! Please!” Koutarou begged. She studied his expression and must have concluded he was being earnest, because Yukie pointed to her left.</p>
<p>               “He went that way.”</p>
<p>               Koutarou’s shoulders sagged in relief. “Thank you!” He turned and started swimming.</p>
<p>               “You’re gonna tell me what’s going on later!” Yukie shouted after him. Koutarou just raised a hand to wave at her as he continued forward.</p>
<p>               He swam for several minutes, desperately hoping he wasn’t too far behind and that Keiji didn’t make any turns. He reached out to the different fish, asking them if they saw another mer pass by. Some had. Some hadn’t. Koutarou kept going. He’d been swimming for half an hour when he heard it. The saddest, loneliest cry he’d ever heard in his life. It made his blood freeze and sent shivers down his spine. It was followed by another. And another. He’d recognize that voice anywhere, anytime. “Keiji,” he whispered. The cries were faint, but Koutarou could tell the direction. He shot off toward them. “Hang on, Keiji. I’m coming,” he murmured.</p>
<p>               The cries and agonized shouts continued. Koutarou felt his heart rate increase with each one. <em>Please be ok. Please be ok, </em>he prayed. He couldn’t stand hearing Keiji’s distress and not being able to comfort him. But the stress of listening to Keiji’s cries was nothing compared to what he felt when the cries stopped. Koutarou’s heart dropped and he forced himself to go faster, faster, faster. “Keiji!” he called. No response. “Keiji!!” Still nothing. He was in the area now where the cries had been coming from but he couldn’t see anyone as he scanned the water. “KEEIIIJIII!” A soft whimper drew his attention to the sand. Koutarou’s eyes widened as they fell on Keiji, curled up in the sand, crying softly to himself. “Shit. Keiji!” He surged down and wrapped his arms around Keiji and pulled him close. The cries stopped.</p>
<p>               “K-Kou…tarou?” Keiji whispered. Koutarou held him tighter.</p>
<p>               “I’m here,” he responded. There was a pause. Then Keiji’s arms wrapped around him and he burrowed his face in Koutarou’s chest.</p>
<p>               “I’m sorry! I’m sorry! I’m sorry!” he wailed. Koutarou bit his lip and pulled back. He slid a hand under Keiji’s chin and raised his gaze to meet his.</p>
<p>               “Don’t apologize,” Koutarou murmured. He stroked Keiji’s cheek with his thumb. “I’m the one who should be saying that. I’m sorry.” Keiji’s eyes widened.</p>
<p>               “B-but…”</p>
<p>               Koutarou shook his head and interrupted. “I shouldn’t have said what I did. It’s not like you wanted to have to choose between your family and me. I know that. I was…just being selfish. I wanted you to stay with me. I still do.” He paused and stared into Keiji’s eyes. “But I’ll respect your decision. I don’t want us to part on bad terms. I still love you.”</p>
<p>               Keiji bit his lip and looked down at the sand next to them. He was silent for a long time. The only sound around them was the echoes of other creatures in the water. Finally, he spoke. “I…I love you too.”</p>
<p>               Koutarou smiled slightly. “I know.”</p>
<p>               “I love you,” Keiji repeated, and his voice sounded stronger. “I love you so much. And I love my family. I don’t want to choose. I want both. I…I want to be selfish.”</p>
<p>               Koutarou blinked. “Wh-what?”</p>
<p>               “I want to stay with you. And I want my family. You said there’s always a choice, but who says there’s only two? I…want to at least try for this,” Keiji mumbled. He raised his eyes to Koutarou’s once more. “Will you try with me?”</p>
<p>               Koutarou grinned. “Hell yeah.”</p>
<p>***</p>
<p>               They were almost back to the pod when they heard it. A low, growling rumble that made them both freeze. Then Keiji lurched forward and swam as fast as he could. He heard Koutarou curse behind him and then he was next to him. They swam to the pod, past all the dens, past Koutarou’s den, finally reaching the source of the noise.</p>
<p>               All the mer of Koutarou’s pod were gathered, except the children. Every member had a weapon, and they had their sights trained on the creatures in front of them. Tall creatures with tentacles and sharp teeth and glowing blue eyes. The Leviathans. Keiji could see Amara, his mother, Djimon, and Malachi. Only four, but even one would have been a tough fight for the pod. There was space between them, just enough to show the clear divide. The leviathans growled and rumbled, and the mer hissed and bared their teeth in response.</p>
<p>               <em>No one knows what the leviathans are saying, </em>Keiji realized. He tried to move forward, but was stopped by a hand on his arm. He turned to see Koutarou. Keiji opened his mouth to speak, but Koutarou was quicker.</p>
<p>               “Don’t leave me behind. Remember? We said we’d try together. Let me come with you,” he stated gently. Keiji closed his mouth and nodded with a small smile. Koutarou returned it.</p>
<p>               As he turned forward, the smile slid of Keiji’s face and he led Koutarou forward quickly, ducking between other mer to get to the space between them and the leviathans. As they swam forward, voices called out to them.</p>
<p>               “What’s going on?”</p>
<p>               “Koutarou!”</p>
<p>               “What are you two doing?”</p>
<p>               “Stop! It’s dangerous!”</p>
<p>               “Don’t go any closer!”</p>
<p>               The two mermen ignored all of them. Keiji noticed the leviathans had stopped speaking and watched him approach, hand in hand with Koutarou. He only stopped when they were an equal distance from both groups. It was then that Djimon spoke.</p>
<p>               <em>“You were to come here, say your goodbyes, and come home. What is the meaning of this?”</em> He demanded. Behind him, Keiji could hear the other mer hissing at the noise, as if they thought it was a threat. He swallowed and squeezed Koutarou’s hand. Koutarou squeezed back.</p>
<p>               <em>“I don’t want to leave,”</em> Keiji replied. The merfolk behind him fell silent. He could feel their gazes boring into his back, but he didn’t turn to glance at them. Partly because he was afraid of what he would find, and partly because he didn’t dare to turn his back on Djimon. <em>“I…I know what I did was wrong. There were better ways to go about this. But I don’t want to leave the merpeople. And I don’t want to leave mother and Amara.”</em></p>
<p><em>               “You stupid, selfish brat!”</em> Malachi snarled. He moved to approach them. Koutarou tensed, but Keiji held his ground, gaze locked on Djimon. Djimon moved one of his tentacles in front of Malachi, barring him from moving further toward them. His gaze never left Keiji’s.</p>
<p>               <em>“That is impossible.”</em> Djimon gestured to the mer behind Keiji and Koutarou. <em>“You see even now how they would gather to attack us. We only came to collect you.”</em></p>
<p><em>               “They’re scared,”</em> Keiji protested. <em>“You and I both know they can’t understand you. They don’t know what it is you want. They are wary and trying to defend against a potential threat. But I can tell them. They’ll listen to me.”</em> Keiji looked at Koutarou now, who still held his hand. His golden eyes were wide and continuously flicking from one leviathan to another, but he did not flare his fins or bare his teeth or draw his weapon. He turned back to Djimon. <em>“Koutarou did. He’s here, no weapon drawn, no signs of aggression. He listened to me and he is willing to negotiate a trust between us.”</em></p>
<p><em>               “What, one mer? That means nothing!”</em> Malachi scoffed.</p>
<p>               <em>“He’s to be the next leader of this pod,” </em>Keiji tried to use the fact to their advantage. Malachi snarled, but Djimon silenced him with a wave of his tentacle. Keiji held his breath.</p>
<p>               <em>“Is he the one you promised to be mated with?” </em>the question came not from Djimon, but from Keiji’s mother. Keiji started and stared at her with wide eyes. A pink flush dusted his cheeks and he nodded. His mother hummed and tilted her head as she regarded them.</p>
<p>               <em>“That means nothing!”</em> Malachi repeated. <em>“The boy has betrayed us! He couldn’t obey one simple rule!”</em></p>
<p>Keiji glared at him, irritated, and couldn’t stop himself from swimming a few feet in Malachi’s direction. <em>“As I recall, there wasn’t an exact limit on how much time I could spend with Koutarou and his pod before coming back. The only betrayal I did was betraying my own feelings. There’s no way I could be happy never seeing him again, but I also want to be with my family! Maybe it’s selfish, but I thought…I thought a compromise might be possible...”</em></p>
<p>This time, Malachi lunged. <em>“You ungrateful brat!” </em>He moved faster than Djimon was prepared to stop him. Koutarou grabbed Keiji and swept him behind him. He flared his fins, blocking Keiji from view. But he did not draw his weapon. A shout came from the mer gathered behind them. It was going wrong. It was all going wrong.</p>
<p>               A blur moved in front of them and suddenly his mother was there. She grabbed Malachi and shoved him away from the two mermen with a snarl. Malachi drew back just enough to be safe of her tentacles, but not enough to be gone from the area.</p>
<p>               <em>“Malachi,”</em> Djimon rumbled. <em>“I was not finished speaking with Keiji.”</em> Malachi hesitated. <em>“MALACHI.”</em> The volume of Djimon’s voice grew so loud, Keiji grimaced in pain, certain it could be heard on both land and sky. He turned slightly to glance at the mer behind him and noticed they all had winced. Some had even covered their ears. Koutarou also looked like he was in pain, but he didn’t move from his protective position in front of Keiji. Malachi lowered his head and grumbled an apology. Only then did Keiji’s mother move from her position between him and Keiji and back to Djimon’s side.</p>
<p>               Koutarou lowered his defensive position and turned to Keiji. He glanced at Keiji’s mother. “Is that…” he whispered. Keiji nodded.</p>
<p>               “My mother,” he confirmed in the mer tongue. Ātaahua perked up when he spoke. There was silence after Djimon’s outburst, and Keiji’s voice carried. Behind them, he heard gasps come from several mer, but he did his best to ignore them.</p>
<p>               Djimon took control of the conversation again. <em>“Keiji. You have indeed violated our trust. You have been fraternizing with merfolk, even while knowing they could pose a threat to us as they did in the past. You were given a chance to redeem yourself to us and choose your family. Instead, you used it to follow selfish, unrealistic desires. You are no longer welcome among us.”</em></p>
<p><em>               “But-”</em> Keiji started to protest, but Amara cut in.</p>
<p>               <em>“He’s still…He can still be redeemed! He isn’t fully in their group! He could come with us now! He’s right when he said there wasn’t technically a limit on the time he could see them for today. He could still come home with us and be with us and never see them again,”</em> she pleaded.</p>
<p>               <em>“You heard him yourself!” </em>Malachi spat. <em>“He doesn’t want that. He wants to see his precious mer-toy and come home to his mother and you every night. He can’t have both. We can never co-exist with the mer!”</em></p>
<p><em>               “HE’S NOT A TOY!” </em>Keiji shouted. <em>“I love him!”</em> He was next to Koutarou again, and he felt the other mer take his hand and squeeze it.</p>
<p>               Malachi laughed bitterly. <em>“You don’t know what love is! What about the hours, days, YEARS your mother sacrificed to raise you? And you throw it all away for this? A group of pathetic little creatures that once murdered your kin and mine! They aren’t capable of love!”</em></p>
<p>               <em>“You cannot be with him and us. If you’ve chosen him, then you are exiled from our ranks,”</em> Djimon declared.</p>
<p>               <em>“MOTHER!” </em>Amara cried. <em>“Say something!”</em></p>
<p><em>               “I…do not think it is impossible for us to coexist,” </em>Ātaahua stated calmly. Keiji looked at her hopefully. The other three leviathan were shocked into silence. But only for a moment.</p>
<p>               <em>“So, you would betray us too!”</em> Malachi shrieked. He lunged at Keiji’s mother. Keiji’s brain worked quickly. If Malachi and his mother fought, his mother was most likely to win. If Djimon helped Malachi, they would be too much for her. But Amara wouldn’t let their mother be taken down. The two of them would be fairly evenly matched against the others. But regardless of the outcome, if there was a fight between leviathans, the pod would not survive. He made his decision.</p>
<p>               Feeling the power rush through his veins, Keiji let go of Koutarou’s hand. He opened his mouth and shouted <em>“Malachi, stop!”</em> Malachi stopped in the middle of his motion, frozen.</p>
<p>               “Keiji?” Koutarou’s voice behind him was uncertain. Keiji shook his head. He couldn’t break concentration now.</p>
<p>               His mother and Amara stared at him. Djimon roared. <em>“You dare?!!”</em> He snarled. <em>“You would turn and use your power against us yet again?!!!”</em> Keiji felt a tremor run down his spine, but he held his ground and his concentration.</p>
<p>               <em>“I would. To protect my family, my friends, those I care about. I dare,” </em>he spat at Djimon, gaze never leaving Malachi. Djimon snarled again and readied to attack. Keiji took another breath in. <em>“Djimon! Malachi!”</em> Both of them froze, under his influence. It was not easy, and Keiji found he had less control when he was attempting to manipulate more than one. He focused his control on keeping them in place, even though it allowed them to now speak.</p>
<p>               <em>“If you follow through with this, not only will you be exiled, you will be made our enemy. There will be no stopping us from attacking you or this pod,”</em> Djimon threatened. Keiji glared at him, eyes glowing blue and cold.</p>
<p>               <em>“So be it,”</em> he hissed. Then he changed his tone and ordered them <em>“You will turn around and you will leave this place. NOW.”</em> Both of them protested, but they could not disobey. They turned. Djimon left first, with Malachi following in his wake. Once he was satisfied they were far enough away, Keiji stopped manipulating them. As soon as he stopped, they stopped moving. Both were merely shadows in the water, but Keiji felt fear grip him. If they returned, he wasn’t sure he could do that again.</p>
<p>               <em>“Stay away from my son!” </em>His mother snarled in the direction the other two had taken. Keiji could tell they heard from the way they stiffened. He froze and listened carefully. The reply he heard made guilt settle in his gut.</p>
<p>               <em>“If this is your choice, </em><em>Ātaahua, then you are choosing to also be exiled as an enemy to our kind,”</em> Djimon’s voice was faint, but the authority of his tone was unmistakeable. Keiji’s mother bared her teeth in a ferocious grin, and even though Djimon couldn’t see her expression, Keiji was certain he could hear the smile in her reply.</p>
<p>               <em>“So be it.”</em> The shadows in the distance heard the reply, and they moved further away. Keiji sighed and his body sagged against Koutarou’s. Two strong arms wrapped around him and he leaned into the other mer. Another hand touched his elbow gently. Startled, Keiji glanced over with wide eyes to see Koutarou’s parents at their side now, still holding weapons.</p>
<p>               Koutarou’s father looked between them and the remaining leviathans, an uncertain expression on his face. “Is…it safe?” he asked, looking as if he was struggling not to offend, but also like he would protect his pod against any threat, even Keiji himself. Keiji swung his tired gaze to his mother. She dipped her head to him.</p>
<p>               <em>“You can tell them I will not harm them,”</em> she promised. He smiled at her and nodded.</p>
<p>               “Mother says she won’t hurt you,” he repeated in a tired voice.</p>
<p>               “…what about the other one?” Koutarou’s mother asked. Keiji looked at Amara.</p>
<p>               <em>“Amara,”</em> he called to her. She did not answer, merely stared at him. <em>“Amara?”</em></p>
<p><em>               “What is it you want?”</em> Amara responded finally.</p>
<p>               <em>“Will you promise not to hurt them?”</em> he asked her. She regarded him for a moment.</p>
<p>               <em>“I cannot make that promise,” </em>she growled. Keiji felt as if his world, which had a small reprieve from chaos, was crashing down on him again.</p>
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<a name="section0008"><h2>8. Broken Pieces Will Fall Apart</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>The family is split. Keiji is devastated. But there is always hope.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Hey! I know this took a while, but I was busy with work. Sorry about that. Anyway, hope you enjoy it!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>               Keiji straightened out of Koutarou’s arms. <em>“What did you say?”</em></p><p><em>               “You heard me,”</em> Amara replied evenly. Keiji bit his lip. Even their mother seemed surprised.</p><p>               <em>“Amara. If you want to be around Keiji, you can’t harm the pod,” </em>she interjected. Amara tensed and growled.</p><p>               <em>“I refuse to associate with merfolk.”</em> She curled and uncurled her tentacles and bared her teeth. Keiji glared and approached her.</p><p>               <em>“I AM one of the merfolk,”</em> he retorted, hands in fists at his sides.</p><p>               <em>“Clearly.”</em> Amara’s voice was cold and distant. Keiji stopped and blinked at her.</p><p>               <em>“Amara?”</em> He whispered.</p><p>               <em>“You chose them. You chose your blood over us. Well, so am I.”</em> Her eyes narrowed as she spoke.</p><p>               Their mother hissed and growled. <em>“Amara!”</em></p><p><em>               “No! I refuse to be second to these mer! WE raised him. WE are his family. WE spent years and years with him. He barely knows THEM. How can he even consider us equal in terms of who he should choose?!”</em> Amara roared. Keiji backed away from her, eyes wide, heart racing, and fins flared. She snarled at him and he yelped and backed even further. <em>“You need to choose! Now! Keiji, is it them, or your family?! The mer you barely know, or the ones who’ve been by your side for years? I can forgive you now, if you come home.”</em> Keiji felt, rather than saw, Koutarou swim up behind him and put a hand on his shoulder. He glanced at the other mer and saw his eyes were determined, ready to swim between him and Amara at a moment’s notice.</p><p>Keiji shook his head. <em>“Amara…please,” </em>he begged as he turned his gaze back to her.</p><p>               Amara glared at him and snarled. <em>“You’ve chosen, then.”</em></p><p>               <em>“I will not let you attack this pod, Amara,”</em> their mother interjected. Amara turned her glare to her. <em>“Your brother is trying to be happy. He will never be happy if we hide him away from his own kind and keep him isolated!”</em></p><p><em>               “Why?! Wasn’t he happy with us?” </em>Amara cried. She turned to Keiji. <em>“Did you even love us at all?”</em></p><p><em>               “Of course I love you!”</em> Keiji edged forward again. Koutarou’s hand on his shoulder squeezed slightly, as if telling him to stop. Keiji shrugged out of his grip and moved forward more. <em>“Amara…”</em></p><p><em>               “I don’t believe you!”</em> Amara shouted. Keiji felt his ear fins twitch in discomfort.</p><p><em>               “Amara, you are behaving childish,” </em>their mother began, but she was interrupted.</p><p>               <em>“Better a child than a traitor of my own family, my own blood!”</em> Amara snapped. <em>“I don’t understand why you’re taking his side! You fought the mer, you are old enough to remember when they actively hunted us! Why are you doing this??”</em></p><p><em>               “Because I am also old enough to remember when we were all united as descendants of Children of Bleda.”</em> Their mother’s voice was firm and strong.</p><p>               Silence descended on the area. Keiji’s gaze flicked between his mother and his sister. None of them moved. A gentle swish behind him was the only thing that reminded Keiji of Koutarou’s presence. The movement gained the attention of all three of them. Amara stared at Koutarou, and with each moment that passed, Keiji’s heart sped up. Until Amara spoke.</p><p>               <em>“…I will not attack the pod.”</em> Amara’s voice was soft. Keiji felt the tension drain out of him and a weary smile started on his face. <em>“But I will not interact with them. I am leaving. I will not betray my own kind for these…creatures…”</em> Keiji’s smile fell. Amara stared right at him as she continued. <em>“You are my brother no longer. I disown you both.”</em></p><p><em>               “Amara!”</em> Their mother’s voice was sharp and strained. Amara turned and began to swim away. <em>“Amara!”</em></p><p><em>               “Amara! Amara, wait!” </em>Keiji shouted. He started to swim after her. <em>“AMARA!!” </em>He reached for her. A tentacle wrapped around his waist, stopping him from going after her.</p><p>               <em>“Keiji!” </em>His mother held him. <em>“She’s disowned you. You are not safe if you go after her!”</em></p><p>Keiji ignored her. He screeched and shouted and squirmed in her grasp. <em>“AMARA! AMARA!!! COME BACK! PLEASE!!”</em> He twisted and lashed out, but his mother held him firmly. <em>“AMAARAAAAAA!!”</em></p><p>***</p><p>               Koutarou tensed as Keiji moved forward. He was arguing with the two remaining Leviathans. At least, he thought they were arguing. He couldn’t really tell, but Keiji looked upset. The smaller of the leviathans tensed and curled and uncurled her tentacles. Koutarou’s heart sped up. He may not know their language, but he could read signs of aggression. It was when the larger one hissed and growled that he felt things were getting out of hand. He swam up and gripped Keiji’s shoulder, but Keiji shook his head.</p><p>               What happened next confused him. Each of them seemed to be speaking loudly and the smaller leviathan seemed to become more and more agitated. Keiji moved slightly ahead of him. He flicked his tail, trying to keep himself from jumping into the middle of it all. Keiji and the two leviathans all paused at that, and then there was a moment of calm. The smaller leviathan said something, and Keiji started to smile, only for his smile to rapidly disappear. The smaller leviathan started turning away. Keiji shot forward before Koutarou could stop him, shouting. At least, he thought Keiji was shouting. Keiji’s mother wrapped a tentacle around Keiji and pulled him close, even as he struggled and cried out. Koutarou glanced at his pod, assembled behind him. They were all tense, wide-eyed, and staring at Keiji and his mother. Koutarou’s own mother held a bone spear, gripped so tight her knuckles were white. But her face wasn’t scared. She looked…sad. As if she empathized with Keiji and his mother. Koutarou bit his lip as he turned to face Keiji and his mother again. He swam forward, ignoring the gasps and hissed “don’t” that came from behind him.</p><p>               As he approached, he kept his eyes on Keiji’s mother warily. When he was within arm’s reach of Keiji, Ātaahua turned her head and stared at him. Her glowing blue eyes were intense and he froze. Koutarou wasn’t sure how long they stared at each other. In the background, he could hear worried whispers, accented by Keiji’s cries, which were slowly dying down.</p><p>               Slowly, as though uncertain of his intentions, Keiji’s mother shifted and passed Keiji toward Koutarou. Koutarou blinked and held out his arms wordlessly to hold Keiji. As his mother withdrew, Keiji looked up at her. The look on his face…Koutarou felt his heart ache. His eyes were wide and afraid. He looked about to break. Koutarou swallowed and wrapped his arms tighter around Keiji. Keiji looked at him and touched his cheek, as if affirming he was really there for him.</p><p>               “K-Keiji,” Koutarou murmured. He stopped when a movement caught his attention. Both of them looked at Keiji’s mother. One of her tentacles reached out and gently stroked Keiji’s hair and then his cheek. Keiji leaned into the touch, still encased in Koutarou’s arms. Before he knew what was happening, Keiji’s mother had moved to stroke Koutarou’s hair as well. Koutarou tensed, but as he looked down at Keiji, who looked at him hopefully, and then at Ātaahua, who let out a pleasant, low rumble, he felt himself relax. Ātaahua pulled back and hummed again.</p><p>               “She says you’re a good mate. E-even though we aren’t technically mates yet. But she says she likes you,” Keiji mumbled softly as he rested his head on Koutarou’s shoulder.</p><p>               Koutarou felt a pink flush creep over his cheeks. “Ah…can you tell her I said thanks?”</p><p>               Keiji hummed and turned his head slightly to the side, so it was more his temple resting on Koutarou’s shoulder than his forehead. He gazed up at Koutarou through his eyelashes. “Mother can understand merspeech. She’s one of the few who kept that knowledge. She can understand what you’re saying.”</p><p>               Koutarou blinked. “Oh.” He turned his face to Keiji’s mother. “Um. Thank you. I, uh, appreciate your…approval…” His tail flicked nervously behind him and he was glad to be holding Keiji, as it hid how his hands trembled slightly. Ātaahua regarded him for a moment before letting out another gentle rumbling sound.</p><p>               “She says you don’t have anything to fear from her. Neither does your pod. They can put down their weapons,” Keiji mumbled, but his voice carried enough for the others behind Koutarou to hear. Koutarou glanced at his parents and nodded. His mother gave him a gentle smile and motioned for the other mer to lower their weapons. She lowered her own spear and dipped her head toward Keiji’s mother.</p><p>               “What about the other one?” Koutarou asked softly. Keiji tensed. “Are they…will the other one come back?”</p><p>               “N-no,” Keiji answered. “M-my…sister. Amara. She said she wouldn’t attack the pod. And she disowned me. And mother. I won’t…I can’t…I…we…” he paused and took a shuddering breath before continuing, “she refuses to see us now. I can’t…see my sister again.” His voice grew quiet and he closed his eyes. Koutarou felt his heart ache again at the look on Keiji’s face. He looked up at Ātaahua, who made a higher pitched keening sound and reached out to touch Keiji again. She stroked his hair gently. Keiji trembled in his arms, and all Koutarou could think to do was hold him.</p><p>               A hesitant hand on his other shoulder made Koutarou look back in surprise. Behind him were Akinori, Yamato, and Haruki. Akinori’s hand was on his shoulder, but his wide eyes were fixed on Keiji’s mother. His mother paused and hummed gently. Keiji raised his head to look at the mer behind Koutarou. Then he turned and gave a short, soft answer to his mother. She tilted her head and looked at the other three again. She reached out her tentacle and hovered it over Akinori’s head. Akinori flinched, but when she didn’t harm him, he relaxed a little. Ātaahua gently patted his head once. She did the same for the other two. Koutarou felt a small smile find its way onto his face.</p><p>               Haruki turned to Keiji. “This…is your mother?” he asked slowly. Keiji lifted his head again and nodded before dropping it back onto Koutarou’s shoulder. “She’s…huge.” Akinori smacked him across the back of his head.</p><p>               “Don’t say that, you idiot!” he hissed.</p><p>               Haruki yelped and rubbed the back of his head. “But…it’s true!”</p><p>               “That doesn’t mean you should say it,” Yamato chided.</p><p>               A low rumble rolled through the ocean around them. All of them except Keiji tensed. “Um…” Koutarou trailed off.</p><p>               “She’s laughing. What Haruki said…it’s a compliment. You don’t need to worry about her being upset, she says,” Keiji interjected. He had a small smile, just barely visible in the corner of his mouth. The rest of the pod relaxed again.</p><p>               “It seems it will take us some time to be used to her...voice,” Koutarou’s father observed. Keiji shrugged.</p><p>               “Mother doesn’t mind,” he assured the merman.</p><p>               “U-um…” Yukie started softly as she hesitantly swam forward. “Ke-Keiji…you said the other one, she was your sister?” Keiji’s smile disappeared and Koutarou frowned.</p><p>               “Yukie,” he protested, but Keiji shook his head.</p><p>               “It’s alright,” he told Koutarou. He turned to Yukie. “Yes. She and mother found me when I was young. My birthmother was dying. They took me in.”</p><p>               Yukie bit her lip and swam forward. “I-I’m sorry…for your loss…” she offered her condolences and wrapped her arms around him in a gentle hug. Keiji leaned into her, but he was still being held by Koutarou, so he didn’t have his arms free to return the hug.</p><p>               “Thank you,” Keiji whispered as Yukie pulled back. She smiled at him. Then she turned and faced his mother.</p><p>               “M-my name is Yukie. I’m a member of Fukurodani Pod, and…a-a friend of your son…Th-thank you for defending us,” she introduced herself softly. Keiji’s mother hummed and dipped her head.</p><p>               Akinori swam up next to Yukie, followed by Yamato and then Haruki. “I’m Akinori…also a friend of your son and member of Fukurodani Pod,” he stated, bowing his head slightly. Keiji’s mother gave him a similar response as she did Yukie.</p><p>               “Ah, I’m Yamato…I’m a part of the pod too. And friends with Keiji,” Yamato followed Yukie’s lead. Another bow of the head, and a hum that sounded as if it was growing more and more pleased. At least, Koutarou hoped she was pleased. The alternative wasn’t exactly desirable.</p><p>               “My n-name is Haruki! I’m a podmember too! And I really like Keiji! He’s a good friend!” Haruki trembled as he spoke and his voice was a bit higher than normal, but his face had a determined look to it. A low rumble filled the water again, and honestly, Koutarou thought it did sound rather like a laugh. Ātaahua dipped her head in acknowledgement again. Then she said something to Keiji. Keiji turned in Koutarou’s arms so that his back was pressed up against Koutarou’s chest now.</p><p>               “Ah, she said it is nice to meet you all. She is happy I have brave and reliable friends,” he translated for them. The great leviathan rumbled something else, but rather than translating, Keiji frowned. A pink flush came over his face and he spoke back to her in their language. She replied again, but Keiji shook his head.</p><p>               “What is it?” Koutarou asked, curiosity piqued.</p><p>               Keiji shook his head again. “N-nothing. She’s just really happy I have friends.”</p><p>               At that moment, Koutarou’s parents swam forward. Koutarou’s mother smiled at the two of them before turning to Ātaahua. It was his father, though, who spoke. “I am Koutarou’s father, and also the leader of Fukurodani Pod. This is my mate, Koutarou’s mother, and the leader of our warrior mer,” he announced. “I am pleased to meet the one who raised my son’s future mate.”</p><p>               Ātaahua tilted her head, then she bowed it low. When she raised herself up again, she stretched out a tentacle toward Koutarou’s father. Hesitantly, the mer reached out and touched her. The tentacle curled around his hand gently, and then let go. He smiled and nodded at Keiji’s mother. The same was done with Koutarou’s mother. It was after the pod leader and his mate acknowledged there was no threat that Koutarou heard several relieved sighs and noted that the rest of the pod seemed to relax more. Koutarou smiled slightly and leaned his head forward to rest his chin on Keiji’s head. The rest of the pod gradually came forward to greet Ātaahua formally.</p><p>***</p><p>               Keiji curled up with his mother for the night. The pod had been more than willing to let them stay nearby, and Koutarou had even offered for Keiji to sleep in his family’s den, but Keiji declined, wanting to spend some time alone with his mother. Although she usually slept during the day, it had been so busy she hadn’t had much time to rest. So now, with the moon at it’s highest point above the ocean, they were finally both going to sleep. Or Keiji would. If his brain would slow down. It kept processing and going through the day’s events, from when he told Koutarou goodbye, to the pod all meeting his mother. He shifted uncomfortably as he thought of how Amara left.</p><p>               <em>“What is on your mind, my little one?”</em> his mother asked. Keiji felt himself soothed slightly by her strong, deep voice.</p><p>               <em>“Everything,”</em> he answered honestly, after a moment’s thought.</p><p>               <em>“Hmmm. That is a vast topic. But I am assuming you mean everything that happened today?”</em> His mother shifted and curled around him, shielding him from the view of any possible predators.</p><p>               Keiji nodded. <em>“I just…it was a lot…and now…we’re exiled, aren’t we?”</em></p><p>               His mother sighed. <em>“You need not worry about that part. You have found a pod to be a part of. You will not be alone.”</em></p><p><em>               “But what about you? Amara…she said we’re no longer family.”</em> Keiji’s voice wavered and he took a second to compose himself. <em> “And you were also cut off by the others. What will you do?”</em></p><p>               His mother shifted again and hummed thoughtfully. <em>“I suppose I will have to continue on my own then…I cannot stay here indefinitely. As for Amara...she will always remain my daughter. If she ever returns to me, I will welcome her. But there comes a time when children must go find their own ways. That applies to both Amara, and you. I cannot stay with either of you forever.”</em></p><p>Keiji shot up. <em>“You’re leaving me? But! But, I…”</em></p><p><em>               “I am not abandoning you, little one. I can still come by to see you. And I will be here whenever you call for me. But you and I know that I cannot stay. Even one of my kind, if we were to stay in the area too long, would cause a disturbance in the natural food web. It is why we migrate. You know this, my son,”</em> Ātaahua explained gently. Keiji bit his lip and lowered himself down to the ocean floor again.</p><p>               <em>“E-even if it’s just you? If you’re the only one who stays?”</em> Keiji looked up at her dejectedly.</p><p>               <em>“Indeed. I require too much to be able to stay here constantly.”</em></p><p>               <em>“But…then…when are you leaving? Is it right away? Or…or could you stay a little longer?”</em> Keiji asked.</p><p>               <em>“How long are you wanting me to stay, little one?”</em></p><p>Keiji fidgeted in the sand. <em>“Kou-Koutarou said…while everyone was meeting you…he told me that they traditionally have a-a ceremony for a mated pair. To make it official. He said we could have ours soon…and I wanted…I wanted you to come,”</em> he admitted softly.</p><p>               <em>“…when is the ceremony?”</em></p><p><em>               “Um…I’m not sure yet. Koutarou said something about needing to talk to his parents…I guess they have some traditions and stuff,”</em> Keiji mumbled.</p><p>               <em>“Hmmm. Well. I will absolutely stay for the ceremony,”</em> his mother answered. Keiji perked up.</p><p>               <em>“Yeah? Really?!”</em></p><p>
  <em>               “Of course. My son is going to be celebrating being a mated pair. It is important that I wish you and your new mate well.”</em>
</p><p>               Keiji couldn’t keep the smile off his face. <em>“Thank you, mother. This means a lot.”</em></p><p>His mother chuckled. <em>“Indeed. I am most pleased.” </em>She paused for a moment and shifted her tentacles. <em>“And you have chosen well for a mate. And for a pod to join, I doubt there would have been a better choice for you.”</em></p><p>
  <em>               “…what do you mean?”</em>
</p><p><em>               “Fukurodani…if I remember, that was Bleda’s son who inherited what they call ‘beast-speak’ first…before your ancestor was born. They were the closest to your kind and mine. It is true his offspring still turned on us…but they are also the only ones now who would remember us. The others have forgotten, or claim we are nothing but myths. But those who can hear the voices of all the other creatures in the ocean would hear of us. They would know we exist. They are the most likely to understand you, to be able to empathize with you,” </em>his mother answered.</p><p>               <em>“But, do they not speak to the other pods? Surely they would be able to tell them,” </em>Keiji wondered aloud. His mother shook her head slowly.</p><p>               <em>“After our kind were hunted, they turned on each other. It was a bloodbath. Everyone was fighting for control. The only reason it stopped was because they were all dying out and were not only fighting each other, but also humans, who had discovered value in the scales and blood of mer. They called a truce, drew up territories, and from that time on, refused to interact with other pods,”</em> his mother spoke softly but her voice was tainted with sadness. <em>“Though, I do not know how many of them would remember this history now, or even feel contempt for each other. This happened thousands of years ago. If they have forgotten us, maybe they have forgotten that as well.”</em> Keiji mulled over the information in his head. <em>“It is time for you to sleep, little one,” </em>his mother reminded him.</p><p>               <em>“Yes mother,” </em>he agreed and closed his eyes. But sleep would not come, so he lay there, awake, listening to the sounds of the ocean night life around him. <em>Will there ever be a time,</em> he wondered to himself, <em>when everyone will get along again? When we won’t have to worry about leviathans, or other pods being hostile?</em></p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>So...a few comments have asked me on this fic, as well as Lost, if I would consider doing a fic that follows the characters in the future of this AU...and let me tell you, I definitely have stuff for the future...but let me also add that it won't be a short experience...and I may have to go in and edit this to be linked together as a series. That being said, I'd be happy to post my ideas for their futures...and any potential adopted children and future ships and whatnot, because if you remember, I never actually had a specific ship tagged for Hinata...but oh, gee, I wonder who I could possibly put him with...haha.<br/>Anyway...what I'm basically saying is...if you're still interested in hearing about the future adventures of Haikyuu! characters in this AU, let me know :)<br/>I never expected my fics to do this well, and I am deeply honoured by all the kudos and comments I've received.<br/>I don't feel bad in saying this because technically it's not a spoiler for the next chapter, as it was mentioned in this one, so next chapter there will be the "mate ceremony", which is essentially their version of a wedding. I'm excited to write it. :)</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0009"><h2>9. I will always love you</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Koutarou and Keiji are going to have a ceremony to celebrate and recognize they are a mated pair. But someone has some doubts that need to be cleared first.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Hey! I know it's been a while since I posted on this fic, and I am so sorry it took me so long, but I was struggling with some writer's block in this chapter and I really needed a break so I could get my thoughts straightened out. Hopefully you guys enjoy this!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>               The next week was spent in preparations for the celebration of Keiji and Koutarou. The entire Fukurodani pod was abuzz with excitement. From morning until evening, all of them bustled about and gathered different supplies and items. Keiji couldn’t keep up with it all. Initially, he’d tried to offer help, but he had no clue what to do, and many of the pod members actually turned down his offer. Others bombarded him with questions: what colours did he like? What were his favourite foods? What kind of shells did he think were prettiest? Did he enjoy listening to singing? What size was his waist and how long was his tail? Which bone knife was more to his liking?</p>
<p>               The questions overwhelmed the poor mer and, after a few days, he ended up hiding out with his mother to avoid them, answering only to Koutarou and his parents. Koutarou’s mother actually spent a lot of time with them. She explained parts of the ceremony to Keiji and his mother, so that they would know how to participate. She also insisted Keiji refer to her as ‘mother-in-law’. Away from all the hustle and bustle, Keiji found the explanations fascinating.</p>
<p>               “So…I would be…the…um,” he tried to remember the term she used again.</p>
<p>               His mother-in-law to be smiled and replied “You are The One Being Welcomed, as you are the one coming to live with our family and pod. Koutarou is The One Who Welcomes.” Keiji nodded.</p>
<p>               “R-right…um…so, because I’m the one coming to the home…I have to be ‘presented’?”</p>
<p>               “Yes, that is right,” she agreed with a nod. Keiji’s mother shifted and hummed as she listened to the explanations. “You will be brought forth in front of the entire pod and Koutarou will announce that you are his Chosen. You will then have to voice that you agree to the mating.” Here she paused and her expression fell a bit. “I don’t want you to think this is discouragement, and I would sincerely hope that as we are at this point, you would want to go through with the arrangement. However, you are the one who makes it official. If you do not wish to be with Koutarou, all you would have to do is say no. Our laws state we must accept the answer of The One Being Welcomed as their will and no one can force you to say yes.”</p>
<p>               Keiji blinked at this information. “…I could say no?...” He tilted his head and looked down at his hands. His fingers were playing with the tooth Koutarou gifted him and he bit his lip. “I don’t want to say no,” he stated finally. When he looked up, Koutarou’s mother had a large, relieved smile on her face.</p>
<p>               “I am very happy for that. I just need to let you know that it is an option. You are never to be in a situation where you are cornered into something like this,” she answered.</p>
<p>               <em>“As your mother, this is all relieving to hear,” </em>Ātaahua rumbled gently. Keiji gave her a small smile.</p>
<p>               Turning back to Koutarou’s mother, he explained, “ah, mother is happy that, even though Koutarou and I want this, you say you would never force me into anything.”</p>
<p>               Koutarou’s mother nodded and smiled again. “Good. I’m glad.” She cleared her throat and continued with her explanations, “so, Koutarou and my mate and I will be in front of the entire pod to announce that Koutarou has a Chosen. Now, usually, you and your family would wait at the back of the pod before coming forward, but as the entire pod is aware of who the Chosen is, and we have the issue of…size…, we can forego the Reveal…if you are agreeable to that…and you and your mother would simply wait next to us until we have introduced you.”</p>
<p>               Keiji thought about it for a moment. He looked to his mother, who dipped her head to him; her way of saying ‘whatever you would like’. He pursed his lips. The Reveal wasn’t much of a big deal to him, as he had never been to a mating celebration before, but he worried that Koutarou might be sad if they didn’t do it perfectly. As if reading his mind, his soon-to-be-mother-in-law spoke again.</p>
<p>               “Do not worry about Koutarou and his preferences. He was the one who pointed out this issue in the first place and suggested this idea,” she reassured him.</p>
<p>               “Really?” Keiji asked. She nodded. “Oh. Then, I would be fine with that.” His mother nodded her head.</p>
<p>               “Excellent! Once you have been presented as the Chosen, you then have your chance to say ‘I accept’ or ‘I refuse’. Accepting means you agree to be his mate and for him to be yours. Refusing…well, you said you didn’t wish to, but in case, I will tell you. If you refuse, the ceremony will end there and everyone will disperse. No harm will be done, and you will still be welcome in our pod, but you will not be considered a mated pair.”</p>
<p>               “…What happens after I accept?” Keiji redirected the topic slightly, not even wanting to think about rejecting Koutarou.</p>
<p>               Koutarou’s mother smiled at him gently. “After accepting, there will be celebrating. You and Koutarou may share a kiss in front of the Pod. Then we will gather for a feast. You two will be at the centre of the celebration, so please do try to behave yourselves. Everyone will be watching as you are brought gifts and wished well by the entire pod.” Keiji nodded. As Koutarou’s mother was about to continue, she was interrupted.</p>
<p>               “Keiji! Come hang out with us! Take a break from all this celebration stuff,” Haruki’s excited voice called. Keiji turned to look, surprised, at where he treaded just a little way off, with Akinori, Yamato, and Yukie.</p>
<p>               “Oh, uh,” he mumbled as he turned his attention back to Koutarou’s mother, but she smiled and shook her head.</p>
<p>               “No, you go ahead and go with them. We’ve gone over everything now,” she told him gently. Keiji shot her a grateful smile and darted off to join his friends.</p>
<p>***</p>
<p>               It was relaxing to just swim around without having to worry about questions or traditions or customs. Keiji found himself glad his friends came to get him. Even if he had one question.</p>
<p>               “Um…where’s Koutarou?” he asked. Yukie gave him an odd look.</p>
<p>               “You can’t see him today! It’s the day before your ceremony, silly,” she answered with a frown. Akinori elbowed her. “Ouch!”</p>
<p>               “He doesn’t know, remember?” the merman retorted. Yukie’s cheeks went pink.</p>
<p>               “Ah. Right. I’m sorry,” she mumbled.</p>
<p>               Keiji tilted his head at them. “Um…what is that about? Why can’t I see Koutarou?” He had stopped swimming and his gaze drifted between each of them.</p>
<p>               “Uh, well, it’s not really that you can’t,” Yamato elaborated. “It’s more like…a superstition? Like it will bring you bad luck if you see him the day before your ceremony. I mean, I know mer who broke that, uh, rule, and they were just fine.”</p>
<p>               “But that doesn’t mean you should risk it!” Haruki piped up. “Especially because you and Koutarou seem to be prone to disasters!”</p>
<p>               “We-we’re not prone to disasters,” Keiji protested. None of his friends answered; they all simply looked at him with doubtful expressions. “No, we’re not! We only got attacked by a Sea Dragon once!”</p>
<p>               “Which is more than anyone else here,” Akinori reminded him. Keiji felt his cheeks heat up. He turned and started swimming again. He could hear the others follow him, but none of them spoke as they swam.</p>
<p>               It was only when they stopped that Keiji recognized where he was. The place where Koutarou and he first met. Colourful little fish swam around in schools and the sand looked smooth on the ocean floor. With a smile, Keiji started to follow some of the fish. The others either joined in or stretched out on the sand. Keiji felt a rush of happiness, the most intense he’d felt since Amara left him and their mother. He liked being with his friends.</p>
<p>***</p>
<p>               Koutarou sighed for the fifth time and swam in another aimless circle around his family’s den. It was a large den, and he was excited to bring Keiji into their home, but he couldn’t help the restless feelings he had.</p>
<p>               “My. That’s quite the sigh,” came a voice from the den entrance. Koutarou looked over his shoulder to see his mother there. He shrugged and continued swimming in an aimless circle. “What’s wrong?”</p>
<p>               “I don’t know,” Koutarou muttered. “I just…feel like I gotta <em>do </em>something, you know?” His mother smiled.</p>
<p>               “Then, do something,” she answered.</p>
<p>               “But…but I don’t know what to do? Like I want…I want to see Keiji. But we can’t, cuz it’s the day before the ceremony, so it’d be bad luck, right? And I don’t wanna give Keiji bad luck. But he’s all I think about,” Koutarou finished in a mumble, cheeks pink, and stopped swimming.</p>
<p>               “Is that all? Or is there more?” Koutarou ducked his head as his mother swam closer. He never could fool her.</p>
<p>               “…sometimes I wonder if maybe I rushed into this, and maybe Keiji only likes me cuz I was the first other merperson he met.” His voice was soft and sounded fragile, and he hated it. “I just…don’t want to…to…limit? Him.”</p>
<p>               “Oh, Koutarou,” his mother chuckled as she wrapped her arms around him. “Don’t be silly. If the only reason Keiji liked you was because you were the first mer he met, then he wouldn’t have tried so hard to make peace between us and his family. Honestly. It’s like you have no self-confidence. What happened to my loud, proud boy?”</p>
<p>               “But…but that’s the thing. He tried. And it didn’t work. And what if he starts to hate me? It’s my fault his sister left and…and…like…I wasn’t thinking about that right away, but the more I think about it, the more it makes sense!” Koutarou leaned into his mother’s embrace. She stroked his hair and hummed thoughtfully.</p>
<p>               “I don’t think he hates you for it now, and I don’t think he ever will,” she murmured finally. Koutarou pulled back to look in her eyes.</p>
<p>               “But, how do you <em>know</em> that?” he demanded, his golden eyes searching hers desperately for an answer. His mother smiled.</p>
<p>               “He’s tried so hard. He wanted to help with the ceremony preparations, but he didn’t know all that much, so instead he’s been talking with me about it. He wants to know how to participate, and he was eager to learn. Someone who doesn’t want to go through with it would not act like that.” She smoothed Koutarou’s hair away from his face and patted his shoulder. “And trust me, my son. The way he looks at you, it’s like there’s no one else in the entire ocean. He definitely loves you.”</p>
<p>               Koutarou looked as if he was digesting this information. Finally, he spoke. “I…love him too.”</p>
<p>               His mother nodded. “I know.” Koutarou smiled at her.</p>
<p>               “Thanks mom. For listening to me.”</p>
<p>               His mother rolled her eyes and gave him a fond smile as she ruffled his hair. “That’s what mothers do, silly boy. I’ll always listen to you.”</p>
<p>***</p>
<p>               Keiji felt a nervous tingling throughout his entire body. His fingers and his fins trembled, and he fidgeted with them in an attempt to make it less obvious. The entire Fukurodani pod was gathered before them. All eyes were on them. It made him want to hide. But he couldn’t. Not now.</p>
<p>               A soft touch on his tail made him start and Keiji looked down to see his mother gently brushing a tentacle against him. He glanced up at her and gave her a grateful smile, to which she nodded her beautiful, majestic head. Silent encouragement. It helped him to still his trembling limbs and focus. The low murmur that buzzed among the crowd silenced itself as Koutarou drew himself up and brought all the attention onto himself.</p>
<p>               “I am Koutarou, heir to the Fukurodani Pod. I am here before you today to present my Chosen,” he announced, in a serious tone. Keiji didn’t think it suited him. He much preferred when Koutarou spoke in his usual enthusiastic manner. His thoughts were cut short at Koutarou’s next words. “My Chosen is Keiji, son of Ātaahua. I would ask that he come forth so I may hear his response.” Blood roared in Keiji’s ears and his ear fins twitched. His eyes were wide and fixed on Koutarou, who had now turned to him, a hopeful expression on his face. He started forward, but a whisper from the crowd had his attention turned toward them. All at once, the eyes on him, the crowd of mer he barely knew, all watching him, waiting, expecting, made him freeze. His limbs felt heavy and his heart stammered in his chest. His fins began to tremble again.</p>
<p>               A nudge from his mother sent him stumbling forward a bit. Cheeks flushed with embarrassment, Keiji caught and righted himself. He turned his gaze from the crowd, to Koutarou. Only Koutarou. Koutarou, whose golden eyes shone with hope, but also a little bit of worry. Koutarou, who even though he was broad and strong, looked a little nervous. Koutarou, whom he wanted to spend the rest of his life with. Hesitantly, Keiji smiled. On seeing his smile, Koutarou’s response was a large grin, and all Keiji’s nervousness seemed to flood out of him and away. Keeping his eyes on Koutarou, Keiji advanced until he was right next to him. The two of them just stared at each other and Keiji felt he could go on forever staring at this merman, with beautiful eyes and an earnest smile.</p>
<p>               They must have spent a little too long staring, because they were prompted by Koutarou’s mother. “Keiji,” she called gently. Keiji turned his eyes to her and she gave him a small but encouraging smile. “Your response?”</p>
<p>               “O-oh. Right.” Keiji turned back to Koutarou, suddenly feeling shy again. His cheeks were warm and he couldn’t help but fidget with his fingers. “I…I…” Koutarou’s smile was gone now, his eyes focused on Keiji like his life depended on his every word. Keiji couldn’t imagine a life without those eyes. “I accept.” The words were soft, he barely heard himself, but he knew Koutarou heard him, could tell by the way his golden eyes lit up, his face shining with excitement and pride. The knowledge that he was the one to cause that happiness was intoxicating, and Keiji found himself saying it again. “I accept!” He was louder this time. “I accept! I accept! I accept!” He laughed as Koutarou let out a loud whoop and threw his arms around Keiji. A cheer went up from the crowd before them, and then Koutarou’s lips were pressed against his, soft and gentle. He didn’t deepen the kiss. It was brief, and when they pulled apart, Keiji could see the look in Koutarou’s eyes that said he wanted more. He himself wanted more, and it seemed as though Koutarou’s parents could see that as well because they quickly swooped in and announced the start of the celebration, effectively separating Keiji and Koutarou just enough that they couldn’t kiss again.</p>
<p>               Everyone was talking and laughing amongst themselves as the feast began. Keiji was seated in the centre of everyone, with Koutarou. There were more foods than Keiji had ever seen in his life and he excitedly tried all of them.</p>
<p>               After the food, the crowd was called to order. One by one, each family presented a gift to the pair. Keiji lost track of all the presents. There were decorations and weapons made from bone, a belt and some bags made from netting and fabric gathered from old shipwrecks and shorelines, more décor made with seashells, plants of various kinds that could be used for foods or medicines, nest materials, and more. Keiji found himself wondering how they would fit all of this in a den shared with Koutarou’s family. Though it was a large den.</p>
<p>               Throughout it all, Koutarou would lean against him or brush their tails together or nudge him with his shoulder. It was as if he was afraid Keiji would disappear if he wasn’t touching him. And Keiji…well, he didn’t hate it.</p>
<p>               It was late into the night and the moon was high in the sky when the last of the pod, except for their parents and close friends, left to return to their own dens. Although the celebration was fun, Keiji couldn’t help but feel a small relief that it was ending. He was tired and he just wanted to curl up and sleep next to Koutarou. Koutarou seemed to have a similar idea, as he slid an arm around Keiji’s shoulders and leaned on him with a happy hum.</p>
<p>               “My, Koutarou, you haven’t stopped touching the poor boy all night,” his mother teased. Keiji blushed a little but for the most part, he didn’t mind the teasing. They were recognized as a mated pair. If Koutarou wanted to hug and cuddle him, he wasn’t going to argue.</p>
<p>               “That’s not as bad as it was <em>before</em> they were a mated pair,” Haruki observed lazily, not really paying attention to who was listening. A questioning rumble from Keiji’s mother had him straightening up wide eyed. “I mean…uh…”</p>
<p>               “What does that mean, Koutarou? Sweetie?” Koutarou’s mother had a scary smile on her face. Keiji stiffened and backed up a little. Koutarou had also tensed and removed his arm from Keiji, as if that sudden lack of physical touching would help his case.</p>
<p>               “Uh….” Koutarou seemed at a loss for explanations.</p>
<p>               “Hmm, yeah, what was it Keiji said you did before you proposed…’touched and stuff’?” Yamato had a broad grin on his face as he leaned against Haruki. Keiji felt the blood drain from his face. Koutarou straightened to his full height.</p>
<p>               “N-now wait,” he began.</p>
<p>               “Koutarou! You did WHAT?” his mother interrupted. Ātaahua gave a displeased rumble and Keiji gulped nervously. Koutarou glanced around nervously. His eyes fell on his father.</p>
<p>               “Dad? Help?” he begged as his mother approached him with a menacing glare. His father shook his head.</p>
<p>               “I’m sorry, son. You brought this on yourself,” was the response. His father turned to Keiji. “Come, Keiji. I’ll help you carry some of your gifts back to the den while the moms…er…talk…with Koutarou.” He put an arm around Keiji, scooped up some of the presents, and started to guide him away. Keiji turned his head to look over his shoulder at Koutarou.</p>
<p>               “Hey!” Koutarou shouted indignantly. “How come I’m the only one in trouble?!”</p>
<p>               “Because everyone knows Keiji is way too innocent to instigate anything like that,” Akinori drawled. Koutarou winced and drew back again.</p>
<p>               “Why have all my friends betrayed me?!” He whined. Keiji heard laughter as his new father-in-law led him into the den. He looked up at Koutarou’s dad.</p>
<p>               “Um. Will Kou be alright? I d-don’t want him to be in trouble! I agreed to everything too, so…” Keiji trailed off as the other merman just smiled.</p>
<p>               “He’ll be just fine. He can take it.”</p>
<p>               Keiji wasn’t sure, but he decided to go with it.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>               It was much later when Koutarou and his mother finally entered the den. His mother went to her and her mate’s nest, which was in a smaller section of the dent that branched off slightly and was covered by a curtain of seaweed. His and Koutarou’s nest was tucked into a cozy corner toward the back of the den. Koutarou slipped into the nest with him silently, probably thinking he was asleep. He wasn’t. Keiji turned over to face his new mate. Koutarou jumped slightly and his eyes widened.</p>
<p>               “Hey,” Keiji whispered.</p>
<p>               “Hey,” Koutarou whispered back. He smiled a little sheepishly. “Um, did I wake you?” Keiji shook his head.</p>
<p>               “No,” he murmured. “Are you ok? They weren’t too mean to you?”</p>
<p>               “Oh. Ah, no, it’s all ok. I’m ok. They just…uh…made some things very clear,” Koutarou replied with a soft, nervous-sounding laugh.</p>
<p>               “What things?”</p>
<p>               “Oh. You know. The whole…’you’re a treasure and I should be treating you like a king’ deal. Which…I already wanted to do that. And the threatening me if I ever make you upset. At least. I think that’s what your mother was trying to tell me. There were a lot of angry motions and growling,” Koutarou admitted. Then he noticed Keiji’s worried expression. “Hey, hey, don’t worry. Families and friends…this is what they do when a couple gets together, right?” He smiled at him.</p>
<p>               “Yeah?”</p>
<p>               “Yeah.”</p>
<p>               Keiji smiled back. “Ok.” Then he yawned. Koutarou laughed.</p>
<p>               “Come on, we should get some sleep.”</p>
<p>               Keiji nodded. “Goodnight, Koutarou.”</p>
<p>               “Goodnight, Keiji.” Koutarou wrapped his arms around Keiji and pulled him close. Keiji hummed happily and tucked his head under Koutarou’s chin. He smiled as he fell asleep, warm and comfortable with the one he loved.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Thank you so much for reading! I am so honoured by all the comments and kudos this story has gotten! I will be doing more to continue this AU, and I am going to link it to Lost as part of a series. </p>
<p>You may have noticed that Koutarou's parents, while not present in Lost, are still present at the end of this fic. Do not fret. I have a plan. Or maybe that should cause you to fret. Either way, there are more things to be brought up in the next part of this AU. Thank you to everyone for sticking with me through this! I love you all and hope you stay safe and healthy!</p>
        </blockquote><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Thanks for reading! Let me know what you think of this fic. :)<br/>If you want, you can check out my tumblr: m34gs</p></blockquote></div></div>
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